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On N slope of a low hill, it stands in a subrectangular graveyard. According to OS Letters (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 285-6), this church 'was probably erected by the Burkes in the 14th or 15th centuries, on the site of a primitive Irish one ... dedicated to St. Meldan of Loch Oirb'. When first visited in November 1983, the visible remains consisted of a poorly preserved rectangular medieval parish church (E-W; L c. 17.5m, Wth 7.7m) obscured by a dense mantle of ivy. Only W gable and sections of N and S walls still stood to full height. There was a pointed arch doorway towards W end of S wall. No visible trace survived o E gable or the 'rude gothic window' noted in it by OS Letters (ibid.). Around 1990, the church and graveyard were subjected to an extensive 'cleaning' scheme, including 'excavation' and the removal of the ivy from the church walls: this revealed a robbed window towards E end of S wall. Early in 1991, the W gable collapsed. The curving sector of the graveyard wall, to E of church, could mark the line of a possible early ecclesiastical enclosure.
The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999).
Date of upload: 05 August 2010
This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed.
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