Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a slight rise in a fairly level landscape with a S-N stream c. 150m to the W and a small E-W valley just to the N. This is the site of the parish church of Killegney on an earlier monastic foundation. Although Killegney was part of the Prendergast fief of Duffry, it was given to the Bishop of Ferns in 1228 in exchange for other lands, probably because it was ancient church land (Hore, 1900-11, vol. 6, 343). According to a Visitation by Thomas Ram, the Protestant bishop of Ferns, in 1615 Henry Reigly was the priest of Killawgy, Robert Cleere the curate, and the church and chancel were in repair (ibid. vol. 6, 266, 270).

The church site is within a D-shaped graveyard (dims. c. 60m E-W; c. 35m N-S) defined by earthen banks and hedges. The church is described as 'in ruins' on the 1839 ed. of the OS 6 inch map but, although not an ancient structure, it had been used for Protestant worship until 1827 when a new church was built in Castleboro Demesne c. 3 km to the ENE (Lewis 1839, vol. 2, 137). All the ivy-covered walls (T 0.6m) survive to roof level, except the E wall, and are probably 18th century in date (ext. dims. 13.55m E-W; 7.22m N-S). There is a brick-lined doorway in the W wall.

There is no evidence of or documentation on an older church building but the graveyard is within a large ecclesiastical enclosure (max. ext. dim. c. 250m E-W) visible as a cropmark NE-S-SW of the graveyard on aerial photographs (MM (54) 30-6; WX 98, 5-8) and digital aerial photographs (WX024-045_1 to _9). An inner enclosure (diam. c. 120m) is also visible NE-S-SW of the graveyard, and elements of a field system consisting of at least two rectangular fields (dims. c. 40m x c. 40m) are visible overlying the ecclesiastical enclosure S of the graveyard. The site of Lady's Well (WX024-044----) is c. 100m SW of the church and Killegney motte (WX024-043----) is c. 300m to the NE. The moated site (WX024-042----) is on the other side of the S-N stream, c. 280m to the NW.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

WX024-045----_1.jpg from NE
WX024-045----_2.jpg from E

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload/revision: 25 June, 2012

References

Hore, P.H. 1900-1911 (Reprint 1979) History of the town and county of Wexford, 6 vols. Dublin. Published by arrangement with W.A. Hennessy Esq.

Lewis, S. 1837 A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols. London. Lewis and Co.