Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a slight E-facing slope. The chapel at Dramlargan is amongst the possessions of St Peter's priory at Newtown Trim (ME036-049003-) at the Suppression in 1540 (White 1943, 295). Ussher (1622) describes the church and chancel as ruinous (Erlington 1847-64, 1, lxxix). The church at Drumlargan is listed by Dopping (1682-5) as a chapel-of-ease to Galtrim (ME043-001----), and he describes the church and chancel as ‘down’ and the graveyard was not enclosed (Ellison 1972, 5, 6). Cogan (1862-70, 2, 385) says the graveyard was ‘only lately enclosed.’

The overgrown W wall (L 6.4m; T 0.9m; H c. 4m) of the parish church with the remains of a narrow window survives in the neglected sub-oval graveyard (dims c. 60m NE-SW; c. 45m NW-SE) defined by masonry walls. The E end of the church may be provided 10.5m to the E of the gable by a N-S pit (L 7m; Wth of top 3.2m; D to W 0.2m; D to E 0.7m) with a mound (Wth c. 4m; H at E 0.7m) to the E. The few headstones date from c. 1784 to c. 1908. The graveyard is within a larger ecclesiastical enclosure (diam. c. 170m) defined by a scarp and slight traces of an external ditch E-S, and by a curving road NW-NE, but it has been curtailed by a NW-SE field bank at SW. Burials were found in the W part of the larger enclosure in 1982 (SMR file). Archaeological testing (04E0745) on the line of the perimeter at NE failed to produce any related material (Duffy 2007).

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: 24 March 2015

References

White, N.B. 1943 Extents of Irish monastic possessions, 1540-1541. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

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.

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

Duffy, C. 2007 Drumlargan. No archaeological significance. in I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 2004; summary accounts of archarological excavations in Ireland, 306-07, No. 1224. Dublin, Wordwell

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