Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On a natural terrace on an E-facing slope in undulating terrain. Three high crosses (TS079-007002-; TS079-007003-; TS079-007004-) within a graveyard (TS079-007005-) are located c. 30m to the S and SE. Nothing is known of the earliest history and dedication of the religious foundation of Ahenny, known formerly as Kilclispen (Fanning, 1976, 36) or St. Crispin's church (Killanin & Duignan, 1967, 143). In the Early Medieval Period this area was part of the Kingdom of Ossory, a powerful buffer state between the Laigin to the north and the Eoghanacht to the west (Edwards, 1983, 5). There is a discussion on the name Kilclispeen in Ó Cearbhaill (2007, 86-9). Carrigadoon hill dominates the view to the SW.
The church, aligned E-W (ext. dims. 15.54m x c. 8.77m), is of roughly coursed sandstone rubble with small slate pinning stones. There are large sandstone block and start quoins at the NW angle. The NW and NE angles rest on a stone plinth. Only the N wall survives intact, though the middle section has collapsed. It reaches a max. height of 2.7m at the W end and 3.2m at the E end, above a basal plinth. A simple ogee-headed sandstone window at E end of N wall (H 0.95m; Wth 0.15m) is chamfered externally and has no bar holes. The internal window embrasure (Wth 0.7m) is flat-headed and splayed. A spud-stone is carved into the sill on the W side, but with no carved eye, the shutter bar went up into space behind the lintel. A portion of the E wall (L 5.3m; T 0.85m) survives. The W wall survives in a very ruinous state (L c. 8.77m; T 1.02m; max. H 0.31m), as does a short length of the S return at the SW angle (L 3.5m; T 0.85m; max. H 0.17m). There is a lot of sandstone rubble piled up in the interior NE angle. Internally at the W end of the N wall is a worn, red sandstone corbel 1.93m above internal ground level and 0.95m from the W wall. There are slate slabs dumped in the interior, from the nearby slate quarry according to a local informant.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 26 August 2011

References

Fanning, T. 1976 Early Christian monastic sites in County Tipperary. In Hayes, W. S. (ed.), Tipperary remembers, 34-41. Tipperary Remembers Society.

Ó Cearbhaill, P. 2007 Logainmneacha na hÉireann II: Cill i logainmneacha Co. Thiobraid Árann. The Stationery Office. Dublin.

Killanin, M.M. and Duignan, M.V. 1967 (2nd ed.) The Shell guide to Ireland. London. The Ebury Press.

Edwards, N. 1983 An early group of crosses from the kingdom of Ossory. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 113, 5-46.