Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the steep NE facing slope down to the River Boyne with a NW-SE section of the stream c. 200m distant. The name Fennor may be derived from Neachtan, a pagan deity and guardian of the River Boyne. In a Christian manifestation he was a disciple of St Patrick and a tutor of St Cianán of Duleek (Ó Riain 2011, 512-3). Abbots of Fennor are recorded from 804 to 1024 (Cogan 1862-70, 1, 136-7). A church at Fynowre is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation (1302-06) of Pope Nicholas IV (Cal. doc. Ire. 5, 252). Ussher (1622) describes the church and chancel at Finnor as ruined (Erlington 1847-64, 1, lxviii). According to Dopping’s Visitation (1682-5) the church had been a ruin since (16)41 and the graveyard was not enclosed (Ellison 1971, 34). The early church with cyclopean masonry became the parish church of Fennor and is within a rectangular graveyard (dims c. 43m WNW-ESE; c. 34m NNE-SSW) defined by masonry walls.
This is an undivided nave and chancel church (ext. dims 18.7m E-W; 7.1m N-S) but only portions of the N, W, and E walls survive with no features apart from an ogee-headed aumbry in the E wall of the chancel. There is portion of a sacristy (ext. dims 5.4m E-W; 3.05m N-S) attached to the E end of the S wall and a buttress supports part of the N wall. The cyclopean nature of the masonry can be seen particularly at the SW angle, but the interior of the church is completely overgrown. A cross-base (dims of top 0.58m x 0.51m) with a rim around the socket (dims 0.38m x 0.23m; D 0.23m) is almost completely buried c. 10m S of the E end of the church. The fragment of a high cross (Wth 0.6m; H 0.56m; T 0.24m) that came to light in the graveyard in 1991 may have related to the socket, and it is now displayed at the W end of the Roman Catholic church in Slane (ME019-025001-). The original W face has a crucifixion while the E has perhaps six bosses in an interlace pattern (Harbison 1990-91, 138-42). A fragment of a graveslab with the date 1548 is recorded from the graveyard (FitzGerald 1914-15) but was not noted in 2014. A section-face in a nearby road-widening operation just to the N cut through pits and post-holes (Swan 1972). Fennor castle (ME019-036----) is c. 40m to the S.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revision: 15 December, 2014

References

FitzGerald, Lord W. 1914-15 Fennor Churchyard. Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, 9, 342-3

Cogan, Rev. A. 1862-70 Ecclesiastical history of the diocese of Meath: ancient and modern. (3 vols) Dublin: John Fowler, Joseph Dollard

Swan, L. 1972 Fennor. Ríocht na Mídhe, 5, 2, 64-69.

Ellison, Rev. C. C. 1971-5 Bishop Dopping's Visitation Book 1682-5, Ríocht na Mídhe, 5, 1, 28-39; 5, 2, 3-13; 5, 3, 3-11; 5, 4, 98-103; 6, 1, 3-13.

Ó Riain, P. 2011 A dictionary of Irish Saints. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Harbison, P. 1990-91 Meath high-cross fragments - lost and found. Ríocht na Mídhe 8, No. 3, 134-4.

Cal. doc. Ire. - Calendar of documents relating to Ireland 1171-1307, ed. H.S. Sweetman (5 vols., London, 1875-86).

Erlington, C. R. (ed.) 1847-64 The whole works of the most Reverend James Ussher. 17 vols. Hodges and Smith, Dublin