Saint Michael's Church (Rathgarve) — The Square

Detached Church of Ireland church, built c.1827, consisting of a three-bay hall with an attached three-stage tower on square-plan to the north having corner pinnacles, a castellated parapet and with an ashlar limestone spire on octagonal-plan over. Pitched natural slate roof, hidden behind castellated parapets, with clay-ridge tiles and cast-iron rainwater goods. Ruled-and-lined rendered finish to walls of front façade, roughcast rendered elsewhere. Pointed-arched window openings to nave with stained-glass windows. Tower to entrance front flanked by pointed-arched windows with timber Y-tracery. Three graded pointed-arched window openings to chancel gable (south), comprising a central window with intersecting timber tracery and stained glass windows flanked to either side by a pointed-arched opening with timber Y-tracery. Hoodmouldings over. Pointed-arched doorway to the front face of tower (north) having moulded ashlar limestone surrounds, timber double doors and with hoodmoulding over. Square-headed tripartite window to first floor of tower, clockface above to second stage and pointed-arched openings with louvred vents above to belfry. Interesting interior with variety of marble monuments and memorials, decorative plaster ceiling, heavy Victorian wooden pews, pulpit and lectern, high-Victorian stained-glass windows and a Bevington Organ (a gift from St. Keirin's Church, Loughcrew). There is a shallow gallery to the north supported on two slender columns. Gallery space is divided into three rooms with two box pews to centre section. Church is set back from road to the south side of The Square, Castlepollard, with cast-iron railings to front and graveyard to the rear.