Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Carrigan (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 179) refers to the site of a church and graveyard, dedicated to St Garadh, within N end of a substantial drystone rectangular enclosure (dims. c. 22.5m N-S; 14.4m E-W) which was destroyed in 1835. Also a rough limestone bullaun (LA022-005004-) (diam. 0.32m, D 0.13m). No visible surface remains survive.

Dedicated to St. Garadh patron and founder of the church of Cashel in the sixth century, it was destroyed in 1835. (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 179). In undulating countryside. No visible surface remains. Described by Carrigan as 'It stood within the churchyard (LA022-005002-) of Cashel, on the south bank of the river Nore, in the original Ui-Foircheallain. The Church of Disert-Garadh was situated to the rere of Mr. England's house in Cashel, in the 'churchyard' field, near the brow of a limestone hill with a scraggy, broken slope towards the north. The caiseal or wall enclosing the church and graveyard was built of drystone. It was very perfect still in 1835 when it was almost entirely destroyed by the Englands, who used the materials in the erection of the adjoining dwelling house. When perfect the caisel formed a rectangular enclosure 16 yards wide from east to west and about 25 yards in length from north to south. Some pieces of the church were standing till about 1835, but not a stone of it now remains over another. Its foundations lay due east and west, close beside the north wall of the caiseal; the site has been left untilled. The rest of the ancient enclosure constituted the churchyard and was used for interments till about the end of the 18th century; part of it is now a cabbage garden; part of it is untilled, but has neither head stones nor appearances of graves' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 178-9).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 17 December 2007