Kilbride Church (in Ruins)

Depicted faintly as a rectangular structure on the 1837 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, and marked unmistakably on the 1914 ed. where it is described as Kilbride church. It was regarded as a nunnery (Mason 1816, vol. 2, 401-2), although it was probably a chapel-of-ease to Kilmore parish church (RO018-001002-), which is c. 3.5km to the SE. The confusion may have arisen with Kilbride parish which contains the site of the nunnery of Derrane (RO040-004001-). The church is situated on a shelf of a gentle N-facing slope. This is a rectangular structure (int. dims 11.65m E-W; c. 7.4m N-S) defined by the N wall (Wth 0.75m; max. H 1.75m) and adjacent parts of the W and E walls, but no architectural features are visible. A rectangular enclosure (dims c. 25m E-W; c. 20m N-S) depicted to the SW of the church on the 1837 ed. of the OS 6-inch map may have been a graveyard, as there was said to have been a cemetery attached (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 187). A curving scarp (H 0.5m) c. 20m to the N of the church represents the N edge of a grass-covered ecclesiastical enclosure (RO011-128004-) which might also enclose the possible graveyard (RO011-128002-), although the full extent of the enclosure cannot be gauged. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revised upload: 9 June 2015

Kilbride Church was likely built in the medieval period, possibly as an early Christian nunnery, and is dedicated to St Bridget. Its significance lies in its historical association with monastic life in the region, though specific builders and exact dates remain unrecorded.