What is recorded here

A limestone stoup from Greatheath Chapel was moved to a farm yard, where people rubbed it to cure warts. The main church stands as a T-shaped ruin inside a wide graveyard, its excavated foundations exposed on a gentle slope. The old school house still leans at the southeast corner, watching twenty scattered headstones and the empty air where worship once echoed.

Belonging to the Greatheath Chapel (29/01) it was removed to a farm yard and was used for a cure for warts (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, 586). A graveyard that contains a T-Plan church of 19th century date built on a gentle slope in the W quadrant. Graveyard cleaned up and the church has been excavated probably by a FAS scheme. The graveyard is a large rectangular area (dims. 100m N-S ; 35m E-W) with a projection along the middle of the W side where the church is located. It has a mortared stone wall on the E and N sides and field banks on the other sides. The old school house a two storey derelict building is on the perimeter of the graveyard at the SE angle. There are only about 20 headstones dating from c. 1815 up to 1985. The church was a catholic church, T-Shaped in plan of 19th century date. There is a corbel limestone stoup that may be the font (LA013-029002-) described by O'Hanlon inside the E doorway, the basin has a diameter of 34cm by 28cm H 24cm. The basin has a diameter of 20cm and a depth of 10cm. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

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