Ecclesiastical enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Hilltop monastery reputedly founded by St. Patrick and renamed Ardpatrick, hilltop formerly known as Tulach na Feinne [Hill of the Fianna] (Westropp 1922, 78). Folklore collected from Ardpatrick National School recorded the following details about Ardpatrick Hill; ‘On the hill here stand the remains of an abbey with small church [LI056-002008-] attached & close to both are the remains of a round tower [LI056-002003-]. St Patrick is said to have approached the hill from the west passing through the neighbouring parish of Effin. A trace of the old road was pointed out to me by an old man & referred to by some others. He called the old road 'Rian bo Padraig' [LI056-002002-]. I some years ago pointed this out to a surveyor from the Ordnance Survey Office & it is now marked on the Ordnance map. It runs up the hill from the west & its line can still be plainly seen. [Informant] Heard this from his father & from 'all the old people‘ (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0509, Page 201; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922041/4921283).
Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 29) recorded that a monastery was founded at Ardpatrick by St. Patrick. The Tripartite Life of St. Patrick stated that Patrick 'desired an ecclesiastical establishment (congbail) in Ard-Pátraic; and Patrick's flagstone (lec) is there and the boundary of his church site (torainn achillí) [LI056-002006-]' (Ó Carragáin 2010, 131; Stokes 1887 vol. 1, 208-9).
The curving field boundary depicted to the NW-N-E-S of Ardpatrick church on the 1927 ed. OSi 6-inch map represents the remains of the ecclesiastical enclosure (diam. c. 255m) of the early Christian monastery of Ardpatrick. On the OSi 25-inch map the field boundary is only depicted running from E-S which is clearly visible as a curving field boundary on Digital Globe orhoimage taken 2001-13. Oblique aerial photographs (CUCAP, ATD049-055/060-061) taken 21/07/1967 shows the church (LI056-002008-) and graveyard (LI056-002009-) standing in the centre of the large hilltop enclosure which probably represents the remains of the ecclesiastical enclosure (LI056-002006-) of Ardpatrick monastery. Curving field boundary to E and S of graveyard clearly visible on Google Earth orthoimages taken 28/06/2018 and 14/09/2019 with possible field system clearly visible to N of Ardpatrick graveyard.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 5 February 2021

References

CUCAP - Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photographs. Unit for Landscape Modelling, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. See:https://www.cambridgeairphotos.com

Gwynn, A. and Hadcock, R.N. 1970 (Reprint 1988) Medieval religious houses of Ireland. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.

Stokes, W. 1887 The tripartite life of Patrick, 2 vols. London. HMSO.

Ó Carragáin, T. 2010 Churches in early medieval Ireland: architecture, ritual and memory. New Haven and London. Yale University Press.

Westropp, T. J. 1922 The "mound of the Fiana" at Cromwell Hill, Co. Limerick, and a note on Temair Luachra. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 36, 68-85.