Graveyard

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on natural rise of ground at SE end of Church Island 7m W of the E shoreline at SE end of Lough Owel. Church Island lies 570m W of the shoreline with the townland of Ballynagall. The graveyard and other features on the island were described in 1876 by O'Hanlon (1875-1903, 386-7) as following; 'An old cemetery extended without the church [WM012-167----], and about fifty years before [c. 1826], the last corpse had been conveyed to it by boats and attendants from the mainland. Two distinctly marked piles of building stones are to be seen, on the very margin of the lake, and formerly these were more elevated over its surface than at present. They, however, are the debris of old anchoretical houses, now completely dilapidated, but apparently resembling, in former times, the beehive-shaped houses to be found in the west and south of Ireland. It is said, St. Lomman built a small house, in an island of Loch Uair, near Portlomain, and this seems most likely to have been the identical place. Except at the landing-place, and on the higher earth, near the old church and its graveyard, lake-flaggers and reedy-grass lift their tops amid the waters on the islet's margins. St. Lomman is said to have lived on Alexandric herbs, of which there was a great abundance on his island. This was the Smyrnium Olus-atrum, commonly called Alexanders, which was probably a corruption of Olus-atrum. The Irish name, Alistrin, for them, is certainly a corruption of Alexandrine'.
In 1910 James Tuite sent Westmeath County Council a list of 'Ancient ruins in Westmeath suggested for preservation by the County Council under the Ancient Monuments Protection Acts, 1882 and 1892, and the Local Government Act, 1898'. Church Island was one of these monuments which he described as following; 'On this island, known in the Annals as Inis Mor, there are ruins of a very ancient church [WM012-167----] which, according to the Martyrology of Donegal, was built by St. Loman, whose monastery is situate on the mainland, about a mile distant. A cemetery formerly extended around the church. The last interment took place about ninety years ago [c. 1820], and was that of a young man who was drowned during the 'Patron' of Portloman while engaged in swimming horses, a very popular competition at the time, in the 'Horse Pool', a well-known part of the lake. The 'Patron' has not been held since' (Tuite, 1910, 354).
Present remains consist of an oval-shaped area (approx. diam. 28m N-S; 24m E-W) immediately S of St. Loman's Oratory (WM012-067---) the boundary of which is poorly preserved.

Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 9 March 2018

References

Tuite, J. 1910 Historic ruins in Westmeath. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 40, 351-55.

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