What is recorded here

Kildellig Church stood barely eleven metres long, so small that worship likely echoed rather than filled the space. St Ernan or Senan remains its patron, commemorated on 1st January, while thirteenth and fourteenth-century entries preserve it as the Rectoria de Delgy. By 1862 the east gable and south wall had been knocked down, their material redirected into the surrounding graveyard wall. What remains is a thin rectangular shadow in the field, perhaps curved slightly where an older enclosure once held the place together.

St Ernan or Senan is the patron saint of Kyledellig and is commemorated on the 1st. January. It is recorded as the 'Rectoria de Delgy' in thirteenth and fourteenth-century entries in the Red Book of Ossory. Thady O'Brien was appointed to the Parish in 1491 and Donald O'Phelan in 1525 (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 64). According to Carrigan (ibid.) it was a very small church (L c .11m), and in 1862 its E gable and S wall were knocked down and the material used in the construction of the surrounding rectangular graveyard (LA022-022003-) wall. The foundations of a rectangular church, now barely visible, survive. A slight curve in the field bank E of the graveyard may indicate the remains of an enclosure (LA022-022001-). 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

The site of Kildellig Church is dedicated to St Ernan (or Senan) and is recorded as "Rectoria de Delgy" in the 13th and 14th centuries in the Red Book of Ossory. Its significance lies in its historical association with the medieval ecclesiastical structures in the region.

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