Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on a slight rise in a low-lying, level landscape c. 400m from the W shore of the South Slob of Wexford harbour, and at the S edge of a farm complex. This is the parish church of Killiane within a subcircular enclosure (int. diam. 34.75m E-W; 32.35m N-S) that is grass-coverd, with mature deciduous trees. There is no evidence of burial, apart from one headstone dated 1806 in the church. The perimeter of the enclosure is defined by a low earthen bank (Wth 1.3-2.1m; H 0.2-.6m) E-S-NW, and farm buildings elsewhere. A chapel dedicated to St. Deignian at Little Killiane is listed by Synnott writing c. 1680 (Hore 1862, 67; 1921, 59). This is the Welsh St. Decumen, who died c. 706 AD (Culleton 1999, 130). For St. Decumen see this web-page accessed on 7 April 2014: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decuman According to a Visitation by Thomas Ram, the Protestant bishop of Ferns, in 1615 Phillip Rawe was the curate of Killalan and the church and chancel were in repair (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 267).
The church consists of a nave (ext. dims. 9.35m NW-SE; 6.8m NE-SW) with good quoins and walls surviving almost complete, and a chancel (ext. 5.8m NW-SE; 5.75m NE-SW) surviving only as foundation courses, except the S corner (H c. 2m). The nave has pointed doorways (at N: Wth 0.9m; H 1.85m; at S: Wth 0.75m; H 1.7) of uncut stone with hanging eyes, towards the W ends of the NE and SW walls and small rectangular windows (at N: Wth 0.27m; H 0.75m; at S: Wth 0.42m; H 1m) towards the E ends of the long walls. The pointed chancel arch (Wth 1.4m; H 2.55m) survives complete. There is a bullaun stone (dims 0.48m x 0.47m; H 0.35m) with a single shallow basin (dims 0.32m x 0.28m) in the nave.

See the attached section of the Down Survey (1656-8) parish map (N at right) reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (Ms 725)

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: 31 May, 2013
Amended: 7 April 2014

References

Hore, P.H. 1921 The barony of Forth, Part 2. The Past 2, 38-99.

Culleton, E. 1999 Celtic and Early Christian Wexford. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1999.

Hore, H. F. 1862 Particulars relative to Wexford and the barony of Forth: by Colonel Solomon Richards, 1682. Journal of teh Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 7, 84-92.

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.