Religious house - Augustinian, of Arrouaise nuns

The National Monuments Service's description

The church of St Mary at Kyllin or Killinmulrooney was attached to the Arrosian nunnery of Kilcreevanty (GA029-096001-) according to documents dated c. 1223 and 1400 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 321; Hall 2003, 209), and traditionally the nunnery continued until the Reformation (Egan 1954-6, 20). A church at Killimalrony is marked on the Strafford map of c. 1636, and almost 450 profitable and almost 400 unprofitable acres there were owned by the Dean of Clonmacnoise in 1641. However, the profitable acres had passed largely to Robert FitzGerald by the 1660s (Simington 1949, 60, Moycarn).
Situated on a shelf, with slightly higher ground to the N. The foundations of the W wall and parts of the N and S walls (T 0.8m; H 0.5m) of a masonry structure that may be a church (int. dims at least 10m E-W; 6m N-S) survive. This communicates through a doorway (Wth 1.5m) in the N wall with the foundations of a rectangular building (RO054-011002-) (int. dims 14m N-S; 6m E-W). These are within a D-shaped grass and scrub-covered enclosure (RO054-011003-) (dims c. 40m N-S; c. 20m E-W) defined by relict field banks extending N (L c. 10m), and S (L c. 60m) from the structures together with a bank curving N-E, and an E-W bank. A house (RO054-011004-) (ext. dims 14m E-W; 6m N-S), divided into three rooms and defined by a grass-covered stone spread (Wth 2m; H 0.3m), is c. 20m E of the church, and outside the enclosure.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010

References

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1949 Books of survey and distribution. County of Roscommon. Dublin. Stationery Office.

Egan, Rev. P.K. 1954-6 The Carmelite cell of Bealaneny. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 26, 19-25.

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

Hall, D. 2003 Women and the church in medieval Ireland, c. 1140-1540. Four Courts Press. Dublin.