Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated within a subrectangular enclosure (CL029-009007-) c. 90m SW of the Round Tower (CL029-009010-) on Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) in Lough Derg. Named ‘St Michael’s Church and Garden’ on the 1840 OS 6-inch map, ‘Baptism Church’ on the 1920 OS 6-inch map and called ‘St Brigid’s church’ by Macalister (1916). A small, ruined, single-celled church (ext. dims. 8.5m by 5m) with a Romanesque doorway (Wth 0.7m; H 1.85m) at W. There are two deeply splayed windows one in the E wall and one on the S wall near the altar. The E window is widely splayed (Wth 0.72m; H 0.7m; sill H 1.2m) and has been robbed out. The window in the S wall also has a wide interior splay (Wth 0.92m; surviving H 0.8m; sill H 0.95m) and the window itself was 0.15m wide. Excavation took place here from 1970 to 1972 revealing much collapsed masonry. The roof was slated and there was evidence that slates, brought from elsewhere, were trimmed in situ. The church was built about the middle of the 12th century but was abandoned as a place of worship about the beginning of the 13th century. The interior of the church was used for burial, almost certainly in the 13th century and perhaps later, with at least twenty bodies being deposited, two of which were of women in childbirth. The burials were all extended, all but one lying E-W. The doorway and W gable had fallen by the early 19th century but these were rebuilt by the Board of Works in 1879-80 with some small irregularities. For a time in the 19th century the building was used to house animals. Iniscealtra is a national monument in state care, no. 5. (Macalister 1916-17, 119-22; De Paor 1970; 1971; 2013, 28, 31-6)

The following images are attached:
CL029-009006-_01.jpg View of church from SW
CL029-009006-_02.jpg View of church from SE
CL029-009006-_03.jpf View of church in graveyard

Compiled by: Mary Tunney

Date of upload: 13 October 2015

References

Macalister, R.A.S 1916-17 The history and antiquities of Inis Cealtra. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 33C, 93-174.

De Paor, L. 1970 1970:06 – Inishcaltra (Holy Island), Clare. http://www.excavations.ie/report/1970/Clare/0000004/. Accessed 13 October 2015.

De Paor, L. 1971 1971:10 – Inishcaltra (Holy Island), Clare. http://www.excavations.ie/report/1971/Clare/0000074/. Accessed 13 October 2015.

de Paor †, L. 2013 Inis Cealtra: Archaeological investigations of the monuments on the island. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 53, 27-78.

Large, S. 2011 A church and graveyard survey in County Clare. Database and photographic record. Clare County Council. Clare Heritage Forum. The Heritage Council.