Galbooly Church (in Ruins)

Situated on a W-facing slope in undulating pastureland, at the N side of a hexagonal graveyard (TN047-027003). Listed in the ecclesiastical taxation of the Diocese of Cashel in 1302 (CDI, vol. 5, 283). A nave (int. dims. L c. 7.5m; Wth 4.6m) and chancel (int. dims. L c. 9m; Wth 7.1m; wall T 0.95m) church aligned E-W, composed of roughly coursed limestone rubble. The N wall of the graveyard (TN047-027003) incorporates the N wall of the church. The W gable of the nave has collapsed and the foundations are overgrown. The chancel arch has also collapsed. There is an ogee-headed single-light window at the E end of the S wall of the nave with a splayed ingoing, an internal rebate, a spalled external chamfer and punch tooling on the underside of the ogee-head. There was probably a corresponding window in the N wall which has been broken out and is ivy covered, however, the W side of the embrasure appears to splay inward slightly. The E gable of the chancel and the corners have collapsed leaving a high, steep mound of rubble covered in vegetation. Some stone is strewn in the interior, particularly in the chancel area. A break in masonry at the W end of the N wall filled up with loose rubble may have been the original doorway. The OS Letters also mention a possible doorway in N wall of the chancel, near the chancel arch and two opposing windows in the chancel on the N and S walls (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 3, 92-3). The field E of the church and graveyard is full of earthworks (TN047-027002) which are clearly visible on aerial photographs (CUCAP 13, AOZ 82 (July 1966) and Gillian Barrett, 20 August 1991), however, they do not form any definite pattern. On the ground a possible roadway (Wth 9m) can be discerned along with a possible house platform (dims. 10.3m x 5m) near the E boundary of the field (TN046-027002). 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

Galbooly Church was built in the 13th or early 14th century, likely by a local ecclesiastical community, and is dedicated to an as-yet-unidentified saint; its remains reflect a small medieval stone church, significant as a recorded site in the Diocese of Cashel's taxation records of 1302.