Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on level ground. Motte (WM006-015----) 80m to NW. According to the Feilire of Aengus and the Martyrology of Tallaght the feastday of Coeman Breic, of Ross ech [St. Caemhan Brec, Bishop of Ross-Each] also known as Chailli in Ollaim/Caille Fhallamhain [wood of the chief Professor / Fallon's wood] on the 14th of September (O'Hanlon 1875, 372-3; O'Donovan 1847, 182-3). The medieval church of Russagh is depicted on the 1654-9 Down Survey map of Moygoish barony (NLI MS 723-4). The terrier of the Down Survey parish map of Russagh states that there was 'one Church in Russagh' (NLI MS 723-4). The Royal Visitation of 1615 recorded that the vicarage of Ruish (Russagh) had an annual of £4, and that the church was in good condition and listed Leonard Heligh [Helah] as its vicar (Gray 1940, 30, 32).
The medieval church is depicted as a rectangular building on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map where it is shown standing in the centre of a D-shaped graveyard (WM006-062001-) defined by an earthen bank. On the 1911 ed. OS 6-inch map only a short stretch of the S wall of the church is shown upstanding. Today no surface remains of this church are now visible. The possible outline of the levelled church appears to be visible in the N quadrant of the graveyard on Digital Globe aerial photograph taken November 2011. In 1837 the Ordnance Survey Name Book for Russagh parish recorded that 'only a small portion of one of the side walls of the old parochial church remains, and the graveyard presents nothing of interest but its situation within an earthen rath’ (SMR File). Some cut stone from the medieval church has been reused to mark burials in the graveyard.

Compiled by: Frank Coyne & Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 2 February 2017

References

Gray, P. 1940 Visitatio Regalis, Ardagh, 1615. Journal of the Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Archaeological Society 2, 29-32.

O'Hanlon, Rev. J. 1875-1903 Lives of the Irish saints. Dublin, London and New York.

NLI, MS 723-4 - National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the County of Westmeath, attested by W. Petty, in 1659. Copied by Daniel O'Brien. A set of 67 maps with accompanying terriers in two volumes, 1786-7. Dublin.

O'Donovan, J. (ed. and trans.) 1847 The Book of Rights. Dublin.