Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On the flat floor of a small N-S stream valley, the sides of which rise quite steeply, in grassland. There are very poor views except N and S along the valley. The OS Letters (1839) describe, 'a large Rath in the Townland of Killeree from which the townland is said to have had its name. It is ninety yards [82m] in diameter, the mound about seven feet [2.1m] in height; it was surrounded by a trench, traces of which remain on the south east. The inside is nearly level with the top of the mound. There are several little heaps of stones and thorns scattered over the surface and the neighbours affirm that these heaps mark the sites of stone builidings and say farther that there are three of the Kings of Ireland buried in it, whence the name Kileree or the Cell of the Kings' (O'Flanagan ed. 1930, vol. 1, 203 (67-8). Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 268-9) gives a translation of the townland name as 'Cill Láithrigh, the Church of Laithreach' and states that the, 'ancient name of the townland was Laithreach, which appears as "Lavertach" in a document of 1247. The Kyle, or church, has long disappeared'.
Within a large roughly circular enclosure (KK014-050001-) there are raised features but they do not form any discernible pattern. It is possibly that these are the remains of an early medieval church (KK014-050003-) and other buildings (KK014-050002-) and that the surrounding enclosure has ecclesiastical associations.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 4 June 2020

References

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.

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