Tomb - effigial

The National Monuments Service's description

This is a large stone in the NE angle of the chancel that has fractured and is now largely made up with cement (dims 2.33m x 1.25m; H 5-6cm). The shallow imprint of a bishop (H 1.23m; Wth of torso 0.27m; Wth at base 0.57m) can be seen at the centre of the stone with the head at the E. (FitzGerald 1911, 405-06, No. III; Moore 1970, 24, No. 1; Hunt 1974, 210, No. 195)

It is described by FitzGerald as: This is a large slab, unsculptured, except for a sunken portion in the middle, showing by its outline that it contained the brass of a bishop of small size. The bishop wore a mitre, and held a crozier, the head of which, turning outwards, appears on his left side. Brasses in Ireland are of very rare occurrence.
If a guess might be hazarded, the tomb may possibly belong to Dr. William Silke, who, according to Ware’s “Bishops of Ireland,” was Bishop of Meath from 1434 to 1450, in which latter year he died at Ardbraccan on the 9th of May, and ‘lies buried in the church of St. Mary at Killeen.”

Date of upload: 18 March, 2015

References

Moore, B.F.E. 1970 Tombs in St Mary's ruined church, Killeen. Ríocht na Mídhe, 4, 4, 24-9.

FitzGerald, Lord W. 1911 Killeen Church Ruins. Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, 8, 2, 401-.18

Hunt, J. 1974 Irish medieval figure sculpture 1200-1600, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish University Press.