Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On a level area of a very gentle S-facing slope, in rough pasture and mixed woodland, with a stream (running c. ENE-WSW) located c. 55m to S. The monument is depicted and named as ‘Shankill Church (in ruins)’ on OS historic mapping. Westropp (1900-02, 149) refers to this site as ‘a graveyard and fragments of a church near Dangan Ivigen’. This is a rectangular area (11m E-W; 5m N-S) defined by the remains of a collapsed stone wall (int. H 0.7m; ext. H 1.0m; T c. 1.2m). The N wall (L 13m; T c. 1.2m; int. H 0.7m; ext. H 1.0m) is best preserved, although there is a lot of tumble internally and externally. The S wall has collapsed (L 6m; T 4.25m; int. H 0.45m; ext. H 0.5m) and there is a gap at the E and W ends. The E wall has been reduced to a scarp (Wth 0.75m; H 0.5m). The W wall does not survive and is likely to have been disturbed by the construction of a later field boundary (long-axis NW-SE) to the immediate W, which is of different construction. An intact portion of facing stones is evident on the internal elevation at the W end of the N wall. Some of the spalls from the core of the wall can be seen in situ at this point. The interior is generally level and clear having been grazed by livestock. A mound of stone is heaped up around the base of a tree c. 12m to N and other mounds are located in the adjoining field to E and may potentially contain archaeological and architectural fragments (Large 2010, 338). A graveyard (CL035-089002-) is adjoining to E and S.

The following images have been uploaded:

CL035-089001-_01.jpg From S. Elevation of intact wall interior, W-end of N-wall.
_02 From E. Cross-sectional view of N-wall, including tumble.
_03 From E. Cross-sectional view across interior of church.
_04 From S. General view of monument (2m rod either side).

Compiled by: Mary Tunney, Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly

Date of upload: 14 March 2018

References

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

Westropp, T.J. 1900-02 The churches of Co. Clare and the origin of the ecclesiastical divisions in that county. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series 3, vol. 6, 100-180.