Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Foundations of a rectangular drystone-built church (int. dims. 13m E-W; 6.5m N-S) situated within a subrectangular graveyard (int. dims. c. 53m NW-SE; c. 37m NE-SW) enclosed by a stone wall. Davies (1948, 115) speculated that a separate chamber (L 3m) at the W end of the church foundations may have been 'part of a vault supporting a gallery'. He also noted some blocks of sandstone built into the gateposts which he suggested were possibly the jambs of 'primitive widely splaying windows, with small chamfer on outer edge'. Examination of the fields around the existing graveyard revealed that the original enclosure was circular (diam. c. 60m) and considerably larger than the area now defined by the graveyard. From SE-S-SW the original perimeter survives as a low earthen bank with a shallow but clearly defined external depression, presumably the remains of a fosse. From W-NW and at E the perimeter is identifiable only as a scarp. Two depressions which probably represent a collapsed souterrain (CV039-071002-) occur c. 16m S of the graveyard wall.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1995). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload/revision: 22 December 2008

References

Davies, O. 1948 The churches of county Cavan. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 78, 73-118.