Kilruane Church (in Ruins)

Situated in a river valley. The church site is on the N side of a trapezoidal-shaped graveyard (TN015-098002), to the SE of a ruinous nineteenth-century Protestant church. It is constructed of roughly coursed limestone rubble (dims. L c. 5.2m N-S; 13m E-W; wall T c. 1m). The N and S walls and the E gable survive, though ivy-covered. No trace of the W wall survives. No entrance survives although gaps have been broken through in both the N and S walls near the E gable. There may have been windows where these gaps were made. In the centre of the E gable there is a narrow, round-headed single-light window with a slightly splayed embrasure. Approximately 60m S of the Protestant church tower an area of limestone outcrop (dims. 3m x 2.25m) protrudes above the surface of the graveyard. Though the surface is very weathered there is an oval depression on the E side which appears to be a bullaun (TN015-098001). No architectural fragments were visible in the graveyard or surrounding stone wall. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

Kilruane Church was likely built in the early medieval period, probably between the 7th and 10th centuries, and is dedicated to Saint Ruane. Its construction of roughly coursed limestone reflects a typical Irish early Christian church style, and it is significant as a surviving example of monastic or parish church activity in a rural river valley setting.