Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Late medieval rectangular church (ext. dims. 17m E-W; 7.55m N-S; wall T 0.7m) located on top of high ground in centre of graveyard (OF021-003002-) enclosed by 19th-century wall. Church has undergone many alterations with addition of bellcote on W gable, insertion of burial vault into W end of church in the 19th-century. Blocked up window in W wall, partially destroyed window at E end of N wall and large pointed E window with brick arch of probable 19th-century date. 16th-century graveslab (OF021-003003-) with floriated cross carved in false relief with roman inscription down both sides located inside the church at the E end. Dedicated to John Coghlan who died in 1590 although the graveslab was carved in 1576, according to the inscription on the slab. Shaft of high cross (OF021-003004-) of 9th-century date removed from churchyard in the 19th-century and now located in the National Museum. Possible holy well (OF021-003005-) which later became town well was located in the market square situated outside the front gates of the graveyard. (Cooke 1875, 315-23; Monahan 1886, 365-9; O' Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 3-6)

In 2006 archaeological testing was carried out by Kieran Campbell under licence no. 06E0346. The development site (NGR 200930/215390) is situated on the west side of Main Street, Banagher, c. 60m north of Market Square and adjoining the north wall of the graveyard of the late medieval St Rynagh’s Church. The graveyard is 2–3m higher than the level of the site and is separated from it by a retaining wall. Testing took place in November 2006 following demolition of the existing building, formerly a toyshop, which had the appearance of a 19th-century structure and was originally divided into three small houses. The new shop was to be built on the footprint of the old, with dimensions of 10.1m by 12m. A series of test-pits and trenches excavated by mini-digger uncovered the surface of natural sand, which was nowhere deeper than 0.2m under a thin deposit of yellow/brown clay, with brick fragments below the concrete floor of the demolished shop (Bennett 2009, 448).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien.

Date of upload/revsion: 7 November 2011

References

Cooke, T.L. 1875 The early history of the town of Birr. Dublin. Robertson.

Monahan, Rev. J. 1886 Records relating to the dioceses of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. Dublin. M.H. Gill and Son.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1933 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the King's County collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839. Bray.