What is recorded here

Ardagh’s oldest church stands buried inside its own graveyard, its ruins still marking the heart of a rectangular field at the village’s southern edge. The dedication to Molua and the land’s tie to Limerick hint that the site may predate the Norman arrival, giving the place a depth older than most local memory. Sixty metres away, his holy well still holds water, while St. Patrick’s church and a modern car park press close on the north. The dead, the saint and the living village remain locked together in one small breath of County Limerick.

Medieval church ruins (LI028-103002-) standing in centre of rectangular-shaped graveyard (approx. dims. 45m N-S x 70m E-W) located at S end of the village of Ardagh (LI028-103001-). Holy well (LI028-103004-) dedicated to St. Molua located 60m to SSW. St. Patrick's R.C. Church and modern car park located immediately to N. Small graveyard extension to S and SE. According to Bradley (1989, vol. 1, 49), 'It has been mentioned above that there is a possibility that this was a pre-Norman church site. This suggestion is based on its dedication to Molua, the fact that the land belonged to the see of Limerick at the beginning of the thirteenth century, and the fact that the church gave its name to one of the deaneries of the medieval diocese'. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 24 September 2018

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