Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Approximately 130m W of the River Nore, within a N-S band of woodland, which expands at the S end to accommodate the church and graveyard (KK020-050002-) of St Fiachra. St Fiachra's Well (KK020-050004-) is located c. 70m to the SE. Indicated on the 1st (1839) ed. OS 6-inch map as a small building within an unenclosed graveyard with 'St. Fiachra's Effigy' (KK020-05003-) indicated with a dot immediately S of the church. On the 1900 revision a cross marks 'St. Fiachra's Church (Site of)', however, this appears to be in the wrong location as a small pond is shown at that position on the 1st ed. map. The church is described in the OS Letters (1839) as, 'the foundation of a small edifice, sixteen feet [c. 4.8m] by nine [c. 2.7m], door in the south side near the west end. One stone of the doorway remains on the right as you go in, three feet [c. 0.9m] high, fourteen inches [0.36m] thick, with a reveal inside two inches [0.05m] deep' (O'Flanagan ed. 1930, vol. 1, 279 (94)). Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 220) states that this building, which he interprets as a hermit's cell, was removed in 1869 to make way for the Kenny Purcell monument which now occupies its site. He also mentions that a local resident described the building as being, 'about 8 ft. [c. 2.4m] long and 3 [c. 0.9m] or 4 ft. [c. 1.2m] wide, internally, the walls built of rough stones and about 4 ft. [c. 1.2m] high, and preserving no traces of the roof' (ibid.). Approximately 280m W of this graveyard, there is an enclosure (KK019-049002-) within the grounds of Kilfera House with an entrance which appears to be a reconstructed doorway (KK019-049002-). This round-headed doorway with imposts, in an early 12th-century style, may have been taken from St Fiachra’s church.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 9 December 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.