Church

The National Monuments Service's description

St. Abban or Abán was of the Uí Chormaic line of Leinster kings, and was baptised and educated by St. Iobhar of Begerin (WX038-004001-). He was said to have founded many churches in Munster, but is most associated with Killabban, Co. Laois (LA026-013----) and Adamstown, originally called Magh Arnaidhe. He is also credited with founding a church (WX029-013012-) at what is now the town of New Ross. According to a Visitation by Thomas Ram, the Protestant bishop of Ferns, in 1615 Jacob Prendergast was the curate of Murinwin also Adamstown, and while the church was in ruins the chancel was well repaired (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 270). (Culleton 1999, 97-101; Ó Riain 2011, 51-3)

Situated on a rise in a low-lying landscape. St Abban's cross, a Latin cross in green stone (H c. 3.8m; Wth 0.58m; T 0.2m) set in a rectangular base (dims of top 0.8m x 0.8m) buried in the ground (Harbison 1992, vol. 1, 9) and a decorated Romanesque fragment recorded from the graveyard (Leask 1955, vol. 1, 163) but no longer traceable are the only indications of the early church. This location also became the site of the parish church of Adamstown, which is depicted faintly as a rectangular feature (dims. c. 15m E-W; c. 10m N-S) on the 1839 ed. of the OS 6-inch map and described as 'Adamstown Church (Site of)' on the 1925 ed. within an oval graveyard (dims. c. 100m E-W; c. 60m N-S) defined by masonry walls and now extended to the W. There is no visible evidence of the church at ground level and archaeological testing (98E0384) in the vicinity produced no related material (Sheehan 2000). St Abban's Well (WX031-058----) is c. 1km to the SSW. (Crawford 1907, 233; de Val 1970, 25).

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: 2 Sep. 2013

References

Crawford, H.S. 1907 A descriptive list of early Irish crosses. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 37, 187-239; 43, 151-69, 261-65, 326-34.

Leask, H.G. 1960 (Reprint 1967 and 1990) Irish churches and monastic buildings, vol. II. Gothic architecture to A.D. 1400. Dundalk. Dundalgan Press.

Harbison, P. 1992 The high crosses of Ireland: an iconographical and photographic survey, 3 vols. Dublin. Royal Irish Academy. Bonn. Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH.

Sheehan, C. 2000 Adamstown. Adjacent to ecclesiastical site. In Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 1998: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 213, No. 660. Bray, Wordwell