Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Church
Lough Lene, County Westmeath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Lough Lene
- County
- Westmeath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Nuns Island
- Latest-edition OS map
- Nuns Island
- Coordinates
- 53.66323, -7.22559
- SMR number
- WM008-110001-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Nuns Island stands in the centre of Lough Lene on an island that was possibly a crannóg (WM008-110----). Castle Island lies 560m to SSW with Turgesius Island 330m to SSE. According to O'Sullivan (2004, 110) 'this crannóg is based on a natural island that may have been enhanced and kerbed during the early medieval period. As with the nearby Turgesius Island and Castle Island, it is associated in local folklore with Vikings and its name also suggests an early ecclesiastical function'. A church possibly a nunnery based on the placename evidence is depicted standing on this island on the 1657 Down Survey map of St. Fechin's parish map (NLI MS 723-4). Annotated 'a church' on the 1657 Down Survey map of Fore barony (ibid.).
Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien
Date of upload: 18 July 2019
References
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.
Nearby in the register
- Crannogunder 1 mi
- Crannogunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Ecclesiastical enclosureunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.