Ecclesiastical enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

On a gentle W and SW-facing slope. This is an early ecclesiastical site. Traditionally St Barry commenced the building of a church (RO030-004002-) here, but moved to Kilbarry (RO024-016001-) c. 4 km to the NE. It is described by J. O'Donovan c. 1837 (O'Flanagan 1931, vol. 2, 64) as a large circular cashel or caldragh (burial ground) and it is depicted as a subcircular enclosure (dims c. 115m NE-SW; c. 90m NW-SE) on the 1837 ed. of the OS 6-inch map with the church as a rectangular area (dims c. 30m x c. 20m) on its perimeter at S. It is now a circular grass-covered area (diam. 107m NW-SE) defined by a scarp (at NW: Wth 1.8m; H 0.3m; at SE: Wth 3m; H 0.3m) which is incorporated into a hedge SE-W. The interior is overlain by two NW-SE field banks and hedges placed c. 20m apart just NE of the centre. There is no evidence of a church, but the holy well (RO030-005----) is c. 180m to the E.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010

References

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.