Site of Killeenatogher Church — Emo Park

In slightly elevated position, on the demesne lands of Emo Castle. No surface remains visible of Killeenatogher Church or 'Little Church of the Causeway'. This church site may have been the parochial church of the medieval parish of Ardea and could have housed the medieval baptismal font (LA009-006---) now at Coolbanagher Church. It may have been the church known in medieval records as 'Capella S[anc]ti Joannis Baptistae de Imo' (Church of St. John the Baptist of Emo) (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, 590). In 1838 the Ordnance Survey described the church site as 'near the farmyard are several very old yew trees marking the site of an old church, in the southern part is 'Kilnatocher' so called from an old Togher or bog road' (OSNB Portarlington Parish). The site of this church is incorrectly marked on the 1906 ed. OS 25-inch map. The church site was located to the E in the area indicated on the 1838 ed. OS 6-inch map. On the 1838 OS map the church site was located immediately to the W of an access road running diagonally across the field belonging to the demesne of Emo Castle. The map shows a possible small enclosing feature surrounding the church which may have been a small enclosure. Aerial photographs taken by the NMS in June 2020 identified the cropmark of an L-shaped ditch which was located approximately 70m S of the site of Killeenatogher Church site. The cropmark may be a boundary ditch or corner of a square-shaped enclosure belonging to the church site but this is uncertain. Faint cropmark of a possible square-shaped enclosure (approx. dims. 75m x 75m) visible on Google Earth orthoimage taken 05/1/2009. Alternatively the earthwork may be related to a designed landscape feature such as a walled garden or some other feature associated with Emo Castle (Court). Numerous cropmarks visible in tillage field to S of church site. Cropmark of linear ditch at S end of field could be related to the trackway/togher or causeway the memory of which is preserved in the local placename. See attached NMS aerial shots showing cropmark of L-shaped ditch and Google Earth orthoimage The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 25 June 2020