St. Nessans Church — Irelands Eye

Situated on relatively low land above the beach on the south side of the island, this pre-Norman church was dedicated to St Nessan who is associated with a 7th century illuminated manuscript known as the Garland of Howth. In 1235 the church of St Nessan was moved from Ireland's Eye to Howth (Baker 2010, 106). It stands to gable height and is built of coursed limestone blocks with small packing stones and large squared blocks used as quoins. It was heavily restored in the 19th century. The present building has a nave and a chancel which is inset and aligned ENE-WSW. It is entered in the W through a semi-circular arched doorway. The arch springs from roughly-squared imposts. The nave is oblong in plan (int. dims. L 8.4m, Wth 4.5m, wall T 0.8m) and is lit by two narrow slit opes in the N and S walls that have widely splayed embrasures. The chancel is tied into the nave and has a vaulted roof from which rises a round turret. In drawings by Petrie c. 1828 and Wakeman c. 1843 a large portion of this turret is still in situ (Cochrane 1893, 396-403). There are three windows in the N, S and E walls of the chancel, the former are plain rectangular opes with widely splayed embrasures, the latter is a tall, round-headed window. Surrounded with significant overgrowth, vegetation internally and on the top of the walls. Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Updated by: Christine Baker Date of upload: 29 January 2015