Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a level landscape and on the N side of a minor cul-de-sac road. This is the parish church of Kilmacree within a subrectangular graveyard (dims c. 45m E-W; c. 30m N-S) defined by earthen banks and hedges. References date from 1541 when it was attached to St. Selsker’s abbey in Wexford (WX037-032009-) (Hore 1920, 76). According to a Visitation by Thomas Ram, the Protestant bishop of Ferns, in 1615 this church was impropriate to Henry Wallop and the name of the priest, if any, is not recorded. Nor is the condition of the church building recorded (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 268).
The church consists of a nave (int. dims. 12m E-W; 4.4m N-S) and chancel (int. dims. c. 4.5m E-W; 3.6m N-S) defined by low grass covered walls (Wth 0.8-1.4m). The pointed chancel arch survives (Wth 1.4m; H 1.9m) with piers of dressed limestone, and there are doorways (Wth 0.7m) towards the W end of the nave walls. The rectangular granite font (ext. dims 0.64m x 0.6m; H 0.41m; int. dims 0.43m x 0.42m; D c. 0.3m) from this site is now (WX042-033002-) at the remains of a Roman Catholic church at Ballykelly (WX042-033001-), c. 600m to the N. (Hore 1925, 11)

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: 28 May, 2013
Amended: 2 Sep. 2013

References

Hore, P.H. 1920 The barony of Forth, Part 1. The Past 1, 62-106.

Hore, P. H. 1925 The barony of Forth. Part 3. The Past, vol. 3, 9-40.