Church

The National Monuments Service's description

This is an early church founded by St Barry or Bearach who died in AD 615 and which was known as 'Cluain Coirpthe'. St Bearach belonged to the Cenel Dobhth, a sept of the Uí Brioin with territory in Roscommon, although his mother Fionmhaith was a sister of St Fraoch of Cloone (LE033-006001-), and Berach was born nearby at Achadh Gréine (Aughagrany), Co. Leitrim. The Cenel Doghtha became the Uí Ainlighe (O'Hanly), who were patrons of his monastery (Ó Riain 2011, 94-5). Its early history is obscure but references date from 918 (ibid. 96). Coarbs are first mentioned in 1128, and the building of a stone church is recorded in 1151. It was burned in 1219 and plundered in 1238, and its coarbs attended the inaugurations of the kings of Connacht in the 14th century. Listed as Cloncardi in the ecclesiastical taxation of Elphin in 1306 (Cal. doc. Ire. vol. 6, 223), it functioned under its own rule and served as the parish church, but was probably abandoned by the 16th century. The decorated crozier known as the Gearr Bearaich, long kept in the vicinity by the O'Hanley family, is now in the NMI (Crawford 1923, 171).
The monastery is situated at the E end of a low E-W ridge, c. 1 km W of Lough Forbes and the River Shannon. St Barry's Well (RO030-001001-) is c. 300m to the SSE, and St. Barry's Boat, a stone on which he crossed the Shannon is now at Whitehall Roman Catholic church (RO030-007----). (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 38; Farrell 1996)

The remains are within a rectangular graveyard (RO024-016008-) (dims 64m E-W; 35m N-S) defined by masonry walls which has architectural fragments (RO024-016010-) built into it, but other fragments recorded in the 18th century are now missing (Stalley 1991, 204-05). There are two churches - Teampal Mór (RO024-016001-) at the E end of the graveyard and Teach Dorcha (RO024-016003-) to its SW, a medieval building - Teach Gall (RO024-016004-) - at the W end of the garveyard, and the site of a round tower (RO024-016006-). J. O'Donovan in 1837 (Herity 210, 123-8) mentions another chapel (RO016-024005-) which may be the medieval building or else was just S of it. There is a bullaun stone (RO024-016009-), a spherical sandstone boulder (diam. c. 0.6m) with a single basin (diam. 0.3m; D 0.2m) which has been damaged, just E of the graveyard. The holy well (RO030-001----), c. 300m to the SSE, is reached by a laneway from the graveyard, and an ancient road (RO024-019----) led to the site from the SW..

Teampal Mór, or the large church, at the E side of the graveyard of Kilbarry was built in 1151. It is a rectangular structure (int. dims at least 21.8m E-W; 6.9m N-S) but the E gable, which had a lancet window in 1944 (SMR file), does not survive. The W and N walls (max. H 1.7m) are featureless, but the quoins at the SW angle (H 1m) have a moulding, and are topped now by a face corbel. Adjacent on the S wall is a cavity containing fragments of a skull. Fragments of the S wall survive (max. H 3.8m) with a round-headed window and a blocked lintelled doorway (Wth 0.55m; H 1.5m) towards the W end which has tie-stones for a porch. There is a fragment of a font (RO024-016013-) inside the church.

Teach Dorcha or the dark house is at the S edge of Kilbarry graveyard. It is a rectangular structure (int. dims 6.35m E-W; 4.6m N-S) whose walls (Wth 0.7m; max. H 1.7), apart from the S wall which does not survive, are probably rebuilt. It is a plain structure apart from the trabeate W doorway (Wth 0.55m; H 1.3m) which has a cross-slab (RO024-016011-) (H 1.2m; Wth 0.8m) inscribed with a Latin cross set upright outside it. A second cross-slab (RO024-016012-) (dims 1.8m x 0.35-0.5m) with a similar incised cross lies just N of the church. John O'Donovan recorded a 17th century graveslab (RO024-016007-) (ibid.) which was recently re-discovered by Gary Dempsey on the N side of Teach Dorcha. It is rectangular (max. dims 1.11m x 0.52m; T 9cm) with the top corners cut off and decorated in false relief. This includes a cross, an 'IHS', a hammer and perhaps a cock. There is a fragmentary inscription commemorating John Coly and another with the date 1666, although the first digit has been removed. The initials IC and AC are on either side of the head of the cross. There is a holed stone (RO024-016014-) (dims 0.32m x 0.09m; H 0.45m) set in the ground c. 20m NW of Teach Dorcha, which was first identified and recorded by Gary Dempsey. It has a rounded top where it is penetrated by a hole (diam. 0.1m).

Teach Gall or the bright house, which may have been a hospital (Lee 1974-5, 227) is at the W edge of Kilbarry graveyard (RO024-016----). It is a rectangular structure (int. dims 11.7m N-S; at least 5.7m E-W), of which the S gable survives almost complete (H 3.4m) with a simple light, together with fragments of the E (H 2m) and N (H 1.8m) walls.

The round tower, which was c. 4.5m W of Tempall Mór, collapsed c. 1770 and its stump (diam. c. 2.75-3.35m) was removed c. 1830 when some of its stones were incorporated into the graveyard wall while the conical capstone (diam. 0.46m; H 0,3m) with a mortice on top is just N of Teach Geal. (Barrow 1979, 179,180)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revised upload: 2 December, 2014

References

Herity, M. (ed.) 2010 Ordnance Survey Letters, Roscommon. Dublin, Fourmasters Press

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

Lennox Barrow, G. 1979 The round towers of Ireland: a study and gazetteer. Dublin. The Academy Press.

Farrell, A. 1996 Cluain Coirpthe and Kinel Dofa. Journal of the Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society 6, 89-90.

Gwynn, A. and Hadcock, R.N. 1970 (Reprint 1988) Medieval religious houses of Ireland. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.

Crawford, H.S. 1923 A descriptive list of Irish shrines and reliquaries. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 53, 74-93.

Lee, G.A. 1974-5 The leper hospitals of the upper Shannon area. Journal of the Old Athlone Society 1 (4), 222-9.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1931 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Roscommon collected during the progress of the
Ordnance Survey in 1837. Bray.

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

Stalley, R. (ed.) 1991 Daniel Grose (c. 1766–1838). The antiquities of Ireland, a supplement to Francis Grose. Dublin. The Irish Architectural Archive.