Church in Woodsgift

Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 377) refers to a penal chapel which was built by Lieutenant Wood of Woodsgift, 'about 500 yds. north of his own residence'. He relates that on Wood's death the chapel was turned into a stable and that 'At present [c. 1905] nothing remains of the chapel but the bare foundations, 42 ft. [12.8m] long and 20 [6m] wide, within a little area enclosed by a low earthen fence and known as "the chapel yard". This site is about 100 yds. [c. 91.44m] to the west of the modern Woodsgift House'. There is no cartographic evidence of this chapel. Healy (1874-9, vol. 1, 43) describes, 'A little to the west of Mr. Keating's residence, Woodsgift, there is an oval mound 130 yards [c. 119m] long, and 40 yards [c. 36.5m] at greatest width. It is thickly studded with tall-growing larch, and in the centre of this clamp is still traceable the foundation of the old ruin'. This feature (KK012-026001-) is indicated on the 1st (1839) ed. OS 6-inch map and subsequent 1900 revision as a D-shaped enclosure, with the roughly semi-circular area extending to the SE (dims. c. 94m NE-SW; c. 49m NW-SE), c. 250m WSW of Woodsgift House. This appears to be a tree plantation associated with Woodsgift Demesne but may encompass the penal chapel and its yard. When visited in 1955 it is described as, 'a bank round a grove of trees' (OPW Correspondence). The feature appears to have been levelled in the 1950s as part of a Land Project scheme (OPW Correspondence) and neither it, nor any remains of a building, are visible at ground level. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 10 June 2019

The Church in Woodsgift was built by Lieutenant Wood of Woodsgift around the early 19th century as a penal chapel, approximately 500 yards north of his residence. It reflects the clandestine religious practices of the period and was later repurposed as a stable after Wood's death, highlighting its historical significance in the context of Irish Catholic worship under penal laws.