Stradbally Church (in ruins) — Ardbeg

Stradbally Church: A well-preserved rectangular church situated in a graveyard on the S shores of Brandon Bay. There was a parish church here by 1302 (Cal Docs Ire, V, 295), and in 1398 'Thomas, son of John de Geraldinis' was the rector of 'Stradbalybog' (Cal Pap Reg, 5, 106). The church was in repair in 1615 (TCD Ms 2158, 94) but was in ruins by the middle of the 18th century (Smith 1756, 71). The present remains, 15.7m x 5.67m internally, are of late 15th/early 16th century date. The walls are built of coursed rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings. The E, N and S walls stand to full height, but the W limit of the church is indicated only by protruding bond stones at the SW corner. The lower 1.5m of the external face of the E wall is battered, the batter returning as a weathered buttress at the NE and SE corners. The fragmentary remains of a buttress survive at the SW corner but the NW quoin has fallen. The interior of the church is confused by overground tombs. The E gable retains its ashlar coping. It was lit by a two-light cusped ogee-headed window, with splayed ingoings, which now lacks its central mullion. The pivot hole and draw bar sockets for double shutters survive. The window is set back from the interior in a chamfered, segment-headed recess and has an external hood mould with double returns. To the N of this window is a rectangular recess, probably a book or statue niche. At the E end of the N wall is a single-light, ogee-headed window with 16th century punch dressing. The chamfered jambs and sill are grooved for glass and the pivot holes and draw bar sockets for a shutter also survive. The window is set in an embrasure with splayed ingoings and bevelled rear arch; a scontion in the W ingoing is carried beyond the wall face and has a shallow carved basin. Only the chamfered jambs and splayed ingoing of the N door survive, its pointed head having fallen in recent years. The E ingoing, more acutely splayed to accommodate the door, retains a draw bar socket. The pointed doorway in the S wall has simple block jambs and a lintelled rear arch. The pivot hole and draw bar socket for the door survive. A small stoop projects from the external wall face immediately W of the doorway, and there is a 2nd stoop set in a rectangular recess in a similar position in the interior. Two beam holes on the internal face of the S wall, above the level of the door, may indicate that a gallery or loft existed at the W end of the church. The two, single-light, ogee-headed windows in the S wall have bevelled rear arches and are fitted with external hood moulds. The westernmost window has broach-stopped jambs, one of which is carved from a reused sandstone sill, probably from an earlier church. At the end of this wall is an aumbrey and beside it a piscina with broach-stop, hollow-moulded jambs and pointed heads. The circular basin is fluted radially and has a central drain. Rain water was carried from the roof by water spouts; one survives at the E end of the N wall, 6 survive on the S wall and a fallen spout lies outside the S door. See attached plan and photographs of graveyard taken from Dunne 2010. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 980. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 4 August 2013