Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Mentioned in the Medieval Papal Chancery documents of 1260 and the Papal Taxation records of c. 1306 as 'Kilsilan' (Ó Cearbhaill 2007, 239-40). The church may have been dedicated to or founded by Sillan, who was either the Abbot of Bangor or a saint honoured in the Irish martyrologies (Power 1907, 304-6). In the Civil Survey (1654-6) it is described as 'a little Church unroofed' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 278). Situated c. 170 E of Kilsheelan village, S of the main road and immediately N of the River Suir, it is a nave (dims. int. 12.85m x 6.32m; wall T c. 0.8m) and chancel (Wth c. 3.8m) church, aligned E-W. It is composed of large blocks of sandstone and limestone, roughly coursed, with small flat pinning stones inserted at intervals. The quoin stones are all of sandstone and roughly dressed. This is a multi-period church, the earliest part being the chancel which is a pre-Romanesque church which became a chancel when a nave was added in the 12th century. The chancel is very ruinous, only the round-headed chancel arch and a short length of the W end of the S wall remain upstanding. There is no evidence of the antae which Ó Carragáin (2010, 312) mentions. The late Romanesque doorway in the centre of the N wall of the nave is richly decorated but very worn. This doorway may originally have been in the W gable, O'Keeffe (2003, 150) suggests it may have been moved to the N wall in the 1400s. Most of the S wall of the nave has collasped and been roughly rebuilt (H 1.5m), while the internal face of the W end of the N wall has been buttressed. The only original window in the building is in the S wall of the nave, with only the E side of the embrasure surviving. There are the remains of an engaged column, in the form of bases and a capital, at the NE and SE angles of the nave. The W gable has a bellcote, garderobe chute and ogee-headed window, indicating a 15th-century or later date for this wall. Within the nave there is a 17th-century slab (TS084-002004-).

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 26 August 2011

References

Farrelly, J. and FitzPatrick, E. 1993 Urban archaeological survey - county Tipperary (South Riding) (2 vols.). Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.

Power, Rev. P. 1907 Place names of the Decies. WAJ. 10, 14- ?, 88-134, 184-240, 263-310.

O'Keeffe, T. 2003 Romanesque Ireland. Architecture and ideology in the twelfth century. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Ó Carragáin, T. 2010 Churches in early medieval Ireland: architecture, ritual and memory. New Haven and London. Yale University Press.

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

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1931 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol I: county of Tipperary: eastern and southern baronies. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.