Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on rising ground overlooking Lough Ennell 1.8km to the SE. The ruins of Dysart House are 160m to NNE and. Holy wells dedicated to St. Maol Tuile of Dysart known locally as ‘Multilly’s Wells (WM025-109----/109001-) located 340m to SW. An early Christian monastery or hermitage (dísirt) was founded here in the late 8th or early 9th century by Maol Tuile who died before the year 830. He was reputedly the son of Nóchaire of the Ceinéal Laoghaire of Meath (Ó Riain 2011, 447). Maol Tuile of Díseart (Dysart) was associated with Maol Ruain of Tallaght. In 1837 John O’Donovan wrote in the Ordnance Survey Letters that the parish of Dysart was named after St. Maoltuile ‘whose memory was celebrated at his holy wells in the glebe about 30 years ago on the 28th or 29th of May’ (OSL vol. 1, 152). The Martyrology of Donegal recorded the 29th of May as the feast day of Maoltuile whose ‘baculus [or pastoral staff] works miracles on perjurers before they go out of the church. His well, and his yellow bell and his baculus and his statue, are there still. This is the first Maoltuile’ (O’Donovan 1864, 445). The Martyrology of Donegal lists the 30th of July as the feast day of ‘Maoltuile, son of Nochar’ (ibid.). Cogan (1867, 424) recorded that ‘there was an abbey here, formerly called Disert-Maoltuile’ and described the church ruins as ‘the old church of Dysart’ which measured ‘seventy-three feet (int. dims. 22.25m) by twenty feet three inches (6.17m)’. In the year 1003 the Annals recorded that ‘Disert-Maeltuile was plundered by Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn’ (AFM, 2, 828-9). Some time before 1202 the church of Dysart [ecclesia de Lochannin de Disertimoletuh] was granted to the Canons of St. Thomas's Abbey in Dublin (Orpen 1920, 168). The church is listed in the 1302 ecclesiastical taxation of the Deanery of Lough Sewdy in the Diocese of Meath, where it is entered as ‘Dissard' with an annual value of ‘8 marks’ and the church tithe valued at ‘10s. 8d.' (Cal. doc. Ire., 266). In 1309 John de Fresingfeld was presented to the parish of Dysart (Cogan 1867, 424). In 1407 Nicholas Moynagh was described as the Pastor of Dysart who exchanged parishes with Richard King, Vicar of Faghly [Faughalstown] (ibid.). The 1540 ecclesiastical taxation of the Diocese of Meath recorded that in the Deanery of Lough Sewdy the Rectory of Dysart was valued at £5 4s. 5d. (Cogan 1862, 380).
Present remains consist of the poorly preserved ivy-covered nave (approx. ext. dims. 7.9m N-S; 13.8m E-W; wall T 0.9m) and chancel church (approx. ext. dims. 6.8m N-S; 11m E-W) aligned WSW-ENE standing in W quadrant of graveyard (WM025-110004-). The fabric of the church is covered in ivy making detailed examination of the fabric impossible. A moss-covered section of the N wall of the nave appears to have been constructed with large rectangular blocks and is different from the fabric of the rest of the church. It is possible that this moss-covered section of the N wall of the nave represents the remains of a pre-Norman church which was converted into a nave and chancel church in the late 12th century. However the dense cover of vegetation on the church walls makes it impossible to examine the masonry remains.
The nave is entered through a destroyed doorway (Wth 1.3m) located off centre to W in S wall. Two late medieval punch dressed jamb-stones of this doorway mark the location of this broken out entrance. A broken out window is visible in the centre of the ivy covered W gable of the nave. Only the lower courses of the N and S walls of the nave survive upstanding. The E end of the nave and the chancel are covered in trees and scrub vegetation. A broken out window is visible in the centre of the E gable. A broken out window is visible located off centre to E in the S wall. Numerous architectural fragments belonging to the church have been reused as grave markers and are visible in the area to the S of the church. A late medieval punch-dressed arch stone from the church has been reused as a capstone In the W boundary wall of the graveyard, other cut stone fragments have been incorporated into the fabric of this post-1700 boundary wall. The decorated base of a possible early Christian high cross (WM025-110005-) stands 1.2m N of the NW angle of the church. The W gable of the church stands 2.2m E of the graveyard boundary wall. Glebe land belonging to the church located immediately SW of the church and graveyard as depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map.

Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 6 November 2017

References

O'Donovan, J. 1864 The martyrology of Donegal: a calendar of the saints of Ireland. Dublin. Alexander Thom.

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

OSL - Ordnance Survey Letters. Letters written by members of the Ordnance Survey's 'Topographical Department' (T. O'Conor, A. O'Curry, E. Curry, J. O'Donovan and P. O'Keeffe) sent to headquarters from the field (1834-41). MSS in Royal Irish Academy.

AFM - Annals of the kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters from the earliest period to the year 1616, ed. and trans. John O'Donovan (7 vols., Dublin, 1851; reprint New York, 1966)

Cal. doc. Ire. - Calendar of documents relating to Ireland 1171-1307, ed. H.S. Sweetman (5 vols., London, 1875-86).

Orpen, H. G. 1921 The Earldom of Ulster: Part V – Inquisition touching Ratoath, in Co. Meath. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 51, 68-76.