Kilcrohane Church (in ruins) — Behaghane

Kilcrohane Church/Cill Chrócháin: This parish church, also known as Coad Church and traditionally dedicated to St Cróchán, the patron of the parish, is located close to the N boundary of a rectangular graveyard (KE106-032002-) on the lower SE slopes of Coad mountain. The site overlooks Cove Harbour and Kenmare Bay to S. The remains of a rectangular building, designated 'R.C. Chapel' on the OS maps, is located nearby at SW. Outside the NW corner of the graveyard is Toberavilla holy well (KE106-032003-), one of three wells formerly visited on the 30th of July to commemorate the feast day of St Cróchán (MacNeill 1962, 649). The church of 'Kilcrokan' is noted in the Papal Taxation List (1302-06) for the diocese of Ardfert (Cal Docs Ire, V, 298), and in 1398 the vicarage of 'Kyllerochan' was appropriated to the Abbey of Killaha, near Killorglin (Murphy 1915, 188, in Royal Visitation). It was included in a 1622 listing of parochial churches in the diocese, and one Edwardus Grayne was noted as minister for 'Kill-croghan' and 'Templenoe' in 1633 (TCD MS 2158, 94, 37). It was in ruins by the middle of the eighteenth century (Smith 1756, 70). The present rectangular remains measure 17.3m x 6.75m internally, and are built of split stone and rubble set in a lime and gravel mortar. The walls vary from .9m to 1.25m thick and survive to full height, except at W, where the gable stands only 2.75m high. The S wall and E gable both display a slight basal batter. The gable, heavily clad in ivy, has a narrow, single-light, round-headed window; this is 2.89m high and its head is grooved for glass. It features a plain transom, and drawbar sockets for a shutter are preserved. The window is set in an embrasure with splayed ingoings and a segmental rear arch, but the sill is obscured by overgrowth. An aumbry is located in the SE angle of the church, and has a step-lintelled head. A smaller lintelled niche is located at the E end of the N wall, 1.55m above ground level. Two pairs of opposing corbels project from the N and S walls, just below the level of the top of the window in the S wall. It has been suggested that these corbels served to support a rood-beam (O'Connell 1915, 229). A piscina, a window and a doorway are located in the S wall. The piscina, 0.6m from the E gable, is set in a coursed rubble recess with a pointed head formed by two inclining slabs. Its subrectangular conglomerate basin, broken at its outer edge, has a central drain. The narrow, round-headed window, 1.85m high, is located at the E end of the S wall; only its coursed W jamb survives externally. The head of the window, formed from a single stone, is set back from the external wall-face and has an arch of pitched slabs overhead. It is set in an embrasure with splayed ingoings which retain the sockets for a drawbar. Only the lower portion of the plunging sill is preserved. The segmental rear arch was raised on wooden centring anchored in two small nib-holes which survive just above its springing line. The pointed doorway is located near the W end of the S wall and is formed of coursed jambs and an arch of pitched slabs, the midsection of which has fallen. The slightly splayed ingoings of the doorway retain the sockets and channels for two drawbars. The segmental rear arch features traces of plank centring, the nib-holes for which survive at its springing line. Beam-holes and corbels on the N and S walls, W of the doorway, suggest that a wooden gallery or loft may have existed at this end of the church. O'Connell stated that this gallery was approached by an external stair at the NW angle (1915, 229), but no evidence for such a feature survives. Towards the E end of the N wall is a blocked niche, possibly for a tomb, roofed by a pointed arch of pitched slabs. A narrow plinth, 0.2m wide and largely obscured by overgrowth and rubble, runs along the base of this wall. The internal ground level of the church is raised as a result of extensive burials. Mounds of rubble occur within the building, and abut its external wall-face at S. In the graveyard, 6m S of the SE angle of the church, is an upright cross-inscribed slab. It measures 0.91m high and 0.3m x 0.07m at base. Its smooth W face bears a broadly grooved, single-line, Latin cross. In 2009 a graveyard survey carried out by Robert Hanbidge and Ann Frykler of Headland Archaeology Ltd. recorded the following details: 'Behaghane Graveyard/ Coad 'old' Burial ground is located approximately 2 km northwest of Castle Cove, 12.5 km southwest of Sneem and 9 km southeast of Waterville. The graveyard is located on a south facing slope overlooking Coad Harbor and Kenmare River, with surrounding farmland. Located just to the northwest of the burial grounds are a holy well and also a shrine erected for St Chrócháin with a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. South of the graveyard is the Coad 'New' Burial ground, this modern 'extension' has car parking facilities. This graveyard is located on a north facing slope just to the northeast of a ring fort (KE106-033----) and hut site (KE106-033001-). The remains of the church are fairly intact, however the walls are excessively overgrown by ivy and other vegetation, and this also goes for the interior of the church where grass, fern and nettles are covering the floor level and the graves within the ruin. There are 27 graves surveyed within the church all unnamed, however due to the overgrowth some may have been overlooked. There are two larger piles of rubble within the church; the western one contains a possible quern stone. The church comprises of a two bay nave with rubble stone walls having rubble stone quoins. Remains of plastering are still visible to the interior. On the south wall are the remains of an originally pointed-arch door opening to having partially robbed out rubble stone voussoirs and surrounds. An internal camber-headed arch to doorway has rubble stone voussoirs. A narrow round-headed window is located to the east end of south wall having rubble stone surrounds and internal splayed reveals. The piscine is placed in a recess and has two inclining slabs forming a pointed head (O'Sullivan, 1996). The east wall is severely overgrown by ivy and the remains of the narrow single light window with internal splayed reveals are heavily overgrown and are barely visible. To the north the overgrowth covers the majority of the wall however there is a block up entrance/niche still visible. The west wall is the lowest and both the interior and exterior of the wall is completely overgrown. Located directly to the southwest are the ruins of a four-bay single-storey chapel. The chapel ruin is in a better condition then the church; the walls consist of roughly dressed rubble stone with dressed rubble stone quoins forming the corners. These are less overgrown. There are still remains of plaster on the interior of the walls; the floor within the ruin is covered by tall grass, fern and nettles. There are 15 unnamed grave markers and one empty grave setting surveyed within the interior of the chapel, due to overgrowth some may have been overlooked. On the south wall are the remains of two square-headed windows having dressed stone lintels, sills and rubble stone surrounds. There are also two square-headed door openings comprising of dressed stone lintels, roughly dressed and rendered rubble stone reveals. There are two fonts located to the east and west sides of the west and east doorways respectively and have square-headed openings. On the east wall there are visible remains of three blocked up square-headed windows, due to overgrowth these are not visible from the interior. The north wall is excessively overgrown on the exterior, while the interior is only partly overgrown. The west wall shows the remains of a blocked up square-headed window on the centre of the wall to the exterior, due to the presence of plaster on the interior wall surface, the interior of the window is not visible'. The above description is deriv