Church (in Ruins)

Kilmacnevan monastic site placed on the Register of Historic Monuments in 1989. Extract from Iris Oifigiúil 25th April 1989. Situated on well drained grassland with good views of the surrounding countryside. Kilmacnevan Castle (WM010-040004-) and deserted medieval settlement (WM010-040----) 650m to N, ringfort (WM011-114----) 200m to NW. Kilmacnevan Church depicted standing in the townland of Ballintue on the 1654-9 Down Survey map of Kilmacnevan parish (NLI, MS 723-4). The terrier of this parish map recorded that there was 'one Church between Rathmore and Ballintue' (ibid.). The poorly preserved ivy-covered ruins of the medieval nave and chancel parish church of Kilmacnevan stand in the N quadrant of a graveyard (WM011-015---). In the field to the W of the church are possible remains of a large early Christian ecclesiastical enclosure (WM011-015002-). Present church ruins consist of a small nave and chancel church of which the E, N and S walls of the chancel survive upstanding (max. H 3m). The ivy-covered walls of the chancel are the best preserved with a segmental archway in the centre of the W wall which appears to represent the remains of the chancel arch. Only the lower ivy-covered wall footings of the nave survive. A piscina is visible in the S wall. The chancel was lit by a single light window in the centre of the E gable and a similar window in the N and S wall of the chancel. A small aumbry is visible in the E wall located close to the NE angle of the chancel. See attached plan of monument surveyed and drawn by the ASI. Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 28 August 2017

The church at Kilmacnevan was likely founded by an early Christian monastic community, probably in the 7th to 9th century. It is dedicated to St Macnevan and represents a typical example of an Irish early medieval monastic site, significant for its historical and archaeological value.