Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On top of a steep rounded hillock in steeply undulating countryside. Roughly centrally placed with a graveyard (KK014-042002-). According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 462) this church was dedicated to St Modiomog. The church (dims. c. 13m x 4m), aligned E-W and built of roughly coursed rubble, consists of a nave (L 7.7m; Wth 4m), only the foundations (wall T c. 1m; H 0.3m) of which survive, and a chancel (L 3.5m; Wth 4m), though only portion of the E gable and the lower courses of the S wall survive (H 0.4-1.2m). The pointed chancel arch survives, though the dressed stones have been robbed. There are the remains of two windows in the chancel, though only the base of the embrasures survive.
In the OS Letters (1839), the S window is described as being 'two feet seven inches [0.78m] from the east gable, measuring two feet seven inches in breadth inside; outside broken' (O'Flanagan ed. 1930, vol. 1, 33-6 (11-12)). The OS Letters also noted, 'a similarly broken window in the north wall at the same distance from the gable' and 'a square recess in the wall under it two feet [0.6m] high, one foot ten inches [0.56m] wide and seven and a half inches [0.19m] deep' (ibid.). This recess was probably for the piscina.
The E window is described as being flat-headed, 'four feet eight inches [1.41m] high, two feet six inches [1.35m] wide on the inside, covered at top with a flag three feet six inches [1.05m] long, one foot [0.3m] broad and three inches [0.075m] thick, two feet [o.6m] high on the outside and, though the front of it in the south side is broken away, it can be easily seen that its breath was about five inches [0.12m]' (ibid.).
To the S of the chancel arch there is a squint (H 0.45m; Wth 0.14m on the W side and 0.6m square on the E side). This feature is also described in the OS Letters (ibid.) and by Carrigan (ibid.) who notes that, ‘at the north side of the choir-arch there was a corresponding recess and loop, which are now almost entirely destroyed’.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 3 June 2020

References

Carrigan, Rev. W. 1905 (Reprint 1981) The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, 4 vols. Kilkenny. Roberts Books and Wellbrook Press.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1930 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Kilkenny collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839. Bray.