Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Within a graveyard (MA015-031002-), located on top of a hillock on the shores of the Palmerstown River. estuary.
This medieval church is mentioned in Papal Letters in the 'Calendar of the Papal Register relating to Great Britain and Ireland': in 1448-9 (Papal Letters 9) it is referred to as the ‘perpetual vicarage of Rathfran’, and in 1455 (Papal Letters 10) its vicar William OMochan was described as an excommunicate who continued to celebrate mass (Bradley and Dunne 1989, 43).
It is not shown on the 1838 OS 6-inch map, but on the 1922 edition it is named ‘Templemurry Church (in Ruins)’, indicating that it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It consists of the very ruined remains of a rectangular building (c. 9m E−W; c. 5.5m N−S) with walls (T c. 0.6-0.7m) of mortared stone. The E and W gables have fallen; sod-covered heaps of stone mark their original location. Both the N and S walls are largely concealed by overgrowth, and little of their structure can be seen. Traces of rough lime render/plaster adhere to the inner face of both walls. The N wall survives to a height of 0.6m, with its inner face still intact, but its external face is a sod-covered stony slump; the S wall retains a height of 1.1m at its W end, and remnants of a buttress lean against its external face at the E end. In the 1980’s a piscine was noted towards the E end of the S wall; its pointed trefoil arch had fallen and was lying on the ground (Bradley and Dunne 1989, 43). These features are no longer visible. Graveslabs, engulfed in overgrowth, cover most of the internal space.

Attached images:
MA015-031001-_01.JPG Interior of church; N wall at Right; viewed from E
MA015-031001-_02.JPG S wall viewed from W

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 24 October 2018

References

Bradley, J. and Dunne, N. 1989 Urban archaeological survey - county Mayo. Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.