Church

The National Monuments Service's description

National Monument No. 81. Small early Christian church (ext. dims. 4.8m N-S; 10.45m E-W; wall T 0.7m) with projecting antae at both ends with later 17th-century church added to the E wall and a late medieval extension added to the W end of the church. Directly over the two centred pointed W doorway there is a plaque dating these alterations to 1689. The N lowermost jamb of the doorway displays punch dressing in a pattern which is common in the late medieval period. Two simple slit opes are present in the S wall and one in the N. An early Christian cross inscribed slab is partly visible in the fabric of the N wall of the church and may have been inserted during the 17th-century renovations. The E gable has been heightened to accommodate the late medieval church to the E. Originally the oratory measured approx. internally 3.4m N-S by 4.85m E-W and was built with roughly coursed large limestone boulders while the later addition was built with uncoursed limestone rubble of a smaller size. (Monahan 1886, 65; Westropp 1907; 285-7; Macalister 1910, 23; O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, 65; Molloy 1950, 5; Harbison 1972, 204; Langan Vol. 1, 76; Manning 1994, 29)

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 23 May 2011