Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in pasture, in N quadrant of Kilpatrick graveyard (WM020-049001-) which stands inside a larger Early Christian ecclesiastical enclosure (WM020-049002-). Medieval church in the parish of Killucan, Diocese of Meath, which is depicted as a ruinous building on the 1655 Down Survey map of Farbill Barony (NLI MS 723-4). On this map the church is depicted as a rectangular building with residential tower at W end standing on the lands of Corbetstown which in 1641 belonged to Nicholas Darcy and Sir John Nugent. On this map the church is annotated 'Kill PC' which stands for 'Kill Patrick Church'. The terrier of the barony map stated that 'at Griffinstowne & Corbittstowne are two old Chappells that at Corbettstowne being called Killpatrick's Church hath some ash trees about it & near a well called Killpatrick well [WM020-056----] in great repute among the Irish Inhabitants' (ibid.). According to local folklore this church was known locally as Scarden or Scártán Church (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0727, Page 018). The folklore of this area known as Scarden is closely connected with St. Patrick and 'is mentioned by O'Donovan in his "Letters" as the place called Scártán - a little brake where St. Patrick stopped on his way to Clonard' (ibid.).
Ruins of Kilpatrick Church described in 1976 as the poorly preserved remains of a rectangular-shaped nave and chancel church (dims. 20 WNW-ESE; 4.5m NNE-SSW) of which an upstanding portion of the E gable is the best preserved with the sod-covered foundations of the S, W and N walls visible elsewhere. A broken out window opening is visible in centre of E gable. A probable doorway opening is visible at W end of the S wall. There are the remains of an internal dividing wall separating the nave (L 12m) and chancel (L 8m). Burials are located within the interior and there is considerable mounding around the church due to interments. A loose carved ogee-shaped window head has been used as a grave marker outside the SE corner of the church. A low embankment of earth and stone extends to S from the SE corner of the graveyard. There is a slight bank to SE and W of this embankment. There is a slight depression at the SE corner and at the NNE. The area within is a level platform. Church is not visible on Digital Globe aerial photography due to tree cover within the graveyard.

Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 04 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.