Church (in ruins) — Cahersiveen

The poorly preserved remains of this parish church are located in an approximately wedge-shaped, disused graveyard in Cahersiveen town. The 'church of Cahir' was described in 1615 as 'all . . . up' (Royal Visitation), and in 1633, when it was listed as being under the patronage of Edwardus Spring, its incumbent minister was Thomas Harris who was also minister of the parishes of Glanbehy and Killinane (TCD MS 2158, 37). It was noted by Smith as the only church in repair in the mid-eighteenth century in the barony of Iveragh (1756, 106), but it was in ruins by 1841 (OSL). Marked simply as 'Church' on the first edition of the OS map, it may have derived its present title from 'Tobernacrohaneeve', a nearby holy well (KE079-038----). The remains of an early nineteenth-century Protestant church are located adjacent at W. The graveyard (KE079-037003-) is enclosed by a wall which incorporates the rears of a number of disused houses along its E side. Tidying of the graveyard in recent decades has resulted in the removal of two areas of grave-markers, which were located in its SW and N sectors. These slabs now pave an area on the S side of the Medieval church (local information). One of them, measuring 1.02m x .35m x .09m thick, has an outline Latin cross on its present upper surface. Almost all of the nineteenth-century slate grave-markers were also relocated, and now line the S wall of the Medieval church and the floor of the nineteenth-century church. Two sandstone slabs, located in the SE angle of the former, bear late seventeenth-century dates: 1682 and 1689. There are a number of tombs in the graveyard, and one abutting the E gable is reputed to be the burial place of Daniel O'Connell's parents. Medieval Church: The present remains consist of the ivy-covered E gable and S side-wall, both of which stand to almost full height, and the attached return of the N wall. They are roughly built of split stone rubble laid in a gravel mortar. The E gable measures 6.4m long internally, while the S wall measures at least 14m in length; they average 1.1m thick. The E gable is pierced by a tall, single-light, pointed window, 2.3m high, which is positioned slightly off-centre. It is set in an embrasure with splayed ingoings and a segmental rear arch, and has poorly preserved drawbar sockets for a shutter. The bed of the embrasure has recently been repaired. A lintelled niche is located at the E end of the S wall, where two windows are preserved. The round-headed E window, similar to, though smaller than, the window in the gable, measures 1.37m high. It features a stepped sill and a pivot-hole and drawbar sockets for a shutter. The W window, 1.1m high, is a narrow rectangular ope set in a rear lintelled embrasure with splayed ingoings. A tree trunk obscures its base. A dense concentration of rubble and overgrowth in the church has raised its ground level. Carved Stones: These carved stones, which may derive from the Medieval church, are built into the S side of the porch of the nineteenth century church. (1) (KE079-037007-) Located above the apex of the doorway is a heavily weathered sandstone carving of an open book. (2) (KE079-037008-). Above this is a portion of a punch dressed section of the head of a pointed doorway. (3) (KE079-037009-) This stone, serving as one of the W jambstones of the nineteenth-century doorway, features punch dressing. See attached drawing of church ruins and 17th century graveslabs taken from O'Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, Fig. 225 The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 1088. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 31 July 2013