Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a shelf with a small SW-NE valley c. 70m to the SW and a bend in the W-E Boro River at its most southerly point is c. 250m to the N. The parish church of Kilcowanmore had been granted by the Keatings to the Knights Hospitalers by 1338 (Brooks 1950, 115). According to a Visitation by Thomas Ram, the Protestant bishop of Ferns, in 1615 Robert Dreighan was the priest, but the church and chancel were in need of repair (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 270). It is within a raised subrectangular graveyard (dims. c. 70m E-W; c. 45m N-S) defined by a stone-faced scarp and hedge which is bordered by a N-S road and its bank at W. It is possibly on the site of an early monastic church. The single cell church is oriented ESE-WNW (dims. 21.5m x 7m) with only the W wall surviving to the full height with good dressed quoins in a green stone. There are possible entrances towards the W end of the N and S walls. The remains of a later building (dims. c. 8m N-S; 4m E-W), represented by the base of the W and E walls, are built over the E end of the church. A fragment of a small granite cross (dims. 0.35m x 0.25m; T 7-9cm) with recessed arcs at the angles of the crux was recorded in 1987 but was missing in 1999. A medieval grave cover (L 1.63m; Wth 0.41-0.53m) with an incised eight-pointed cross was in the graveyard in 1999 but could not be found in 2012. St Cowan's Well, where patterns were held on 3rd February in the 1920s (Sheil 1920, 115), lies c. 80m to the SW.

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.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload/revision: 27 August, 2012
Amended: 4 Sep. 2013

References

Sheil, Rev. P. 1920 Parish of Bree. The Past 1, 113-19.

Brooks E.St. J. (ed.) 1950 Knights' fees in Counties Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny (13th-15th century). Dublin. Stationery Office.