Ecclesiastical enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Kilbixy or Ceall Bhigsighe was founded by St Bigseach who was connected to St. Brigid of Kildare (Ó Riain 2011, 106). Cogan (1870,577) recorded that Kilbixy derives its name from Cill Bigseach or Cill-Bigsighe, the Church of St. Bigseach, whose festival was celebrated on the 28th of June and on the 4th of October. According to Swan (1988, 13) the remains of a large outer enclosure (approx. diam. 145m NNE-SSW) surrounding the church site (WM011-040002-) and graveyard (WM011-040005-) was the remains of an Early Christian enclosure belonging to the monastery founded by St. Bicsech [Bigseach] (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 388). In the field 60m to the NNW of the 18th century C of I church and graveyard are the remains of a curving ditch which is stone faced. This is the large outer enclosure identified by Swan as the remains of an Early Christian ecclesiastical enclosure. This feature is clearly visible on Bing Maps aerial photograph taken November 2011. This feature represents the remains of a post-medieval fosse dug as a landscape feature such as a ha-ha associated with the 18th century C of I church building. The construction of this feature was described in the 1793 edition of Anthologia Hibernica (Anon. 1793, 316). In 1980 an Early Christian sandstone cross-slab (WM011-040007-) was discovered in the graveyard during a clean up scheme and is now on display inside the C of I church.

Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 10 July 2015

References

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

Ó Riain, P. 2011 A dictionary of Irish Saints. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Cogan, Rev. A. 1862-70 Ecclesiastical history of the diocese of Meath: ancient and modern. (3 vols) Dublin: John Fowler, Joseph Dollard

Swan, D.L. 1988 The Early Christian ecclesiastical sites of County Westmeath. In J. Bradley (ed.), Settlement and society in Medieval Ireland: studies presented to F.X. Martin O.S.A., 1-31. Kilkenny. Boethius Press.

Anon. 1793 Anthologia Hibernica or monthly collections of science, belles-lettres, and history, vol. 2, July - December 1793. Dublin. Printed for Richard Edward Mercier, and Co. Booksellers.