Graveyard

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). The medieval church ruins (LI056-002008-) of Ardpatrick stands in centre of graveyard which consists of a rectangular-shaped area (approx. dims. 48m N-S x 56m E-W) enclosed by post-1700 stone wall with graveyard extension to E. Ruins of round tower (LI056-002003-) immediately to NW and St. Patrick's Well (LI056-002007-) 15m to SSW. 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 a large hilltop enclosure which may be the remains of the ecclesiastical enclosure (LI056-002006-) of Ardpatrick monastery. Extensive remains of a field system in the form of rectangular-shaped enclosures are clearly visible on the Hill of Ardpatrick. Ó Carragáin (2010, 306) recorded that 'a trabeate lintel with plain-relief architrave has been reused as part of a stile. It is definitely from a pre-Romanesque church, rather than from the ruined round tower, but otherwise little or no early fabric from this church survives'. Numerous architectural fragments including Romanesque decorated stone has been taken from the church and reused as gravemarkers in the surrounding graveyard (pers. comm. Sarah McCutcheon 12/02/2021).

Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 15 February 2021

References

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.

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

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