Church in Timogue

Situated on rising ground with Timogue River 88m to W and site of Timogue Castle (LA019-006----) 75m to SW. Church of Ireland church in centre of graveyard (LA019-007003-) built on the site of or incorporating the fabric of a medieval church. This church site was reputedly founded by St. Maodhóg or Mogue the patron of Ferns, Co. Wexford (O’Hanlon and O’Leary 1907, 338), although O’Byrne recorded in the 19th century that the church was associated with St. Mochua. A late medieval limestone octagonal-shaped font (LA019-007004-) can be seen in the NW corner of the C of I church. In 1204 there is a reference to ‘Techmoedoch’ [Timogue]. In this year the Calendar of Papal Letters confirm ‘to Herluin, bishop of Leighlin, and his successors of their possession, namely of the city of Leighlin, Cluam, Eidnec, Thechmochna, Techmoedoch, in Nuaconghail, etc.’ ‘with their churches possessions and bondmen’ (Cal. papal letters, 18). In 1302 the ecclesiastical taxation of Ireland values the church of ‘Kylsondale’ (Timogue) as worth 5 marks a year (Cal. doc. Ire, 250). In 1551 the Tudor fiants recorded the ‘presentation of Patrick More [Moore], chaplain; to the vicarage of Tymoke [Timogue], diocese of Leighlin’ (Nicholls 1994, 161). The condition of this appointment was that, ‘Provydyd allway that he shall bring upe youthe off the masculyne sort in vertuis berynge to the settynge forth off the Kyng’s magestes procedyngs’ (Nicholls 1994, 161). In 1564, Gerald, earl of Kildare was granted the ‘advowson of the rectory and vicarage of Tymoke alias Temoke alias Ferrynokelle [Timogue]’ (Nicholls 1994, 72). In 1585-7 the church of ‘Temoge [Timogue]’ was listed as one of the churches described as ‘ruinated but the lande not waste’ (Moore 1987, 7). Around 1588 an appeal to the Crown was ‘made by Hugh Cole, clerk, rector of Tymog [Timogue], diocese of Leighlyn, from a decree of Thady Dowling, vice-custos of the spiritualities of that vacant see at the instance of Gerrald Fitz Gerrott’ (Nicholls 1994, 626). The 1615 visitation of the Diocese of Leighlin described the building as ‘Cancella et ecclesia repata’ [Chancel and church repaired] (Moore 1987, 10). According to O’Hanlon and O’Leary (1907, 338) at Timogue ‘there is a very ancient cemetery (LA019-007003-), within which most probably stood an exceedingly old church, on the very site of the Protestant one which has replaced it’. Daniel O’Byrne of Timahoe recorded the following about the foundation of the present Church of Ireland church. He wrote that ‘Sir Walter Whelan was a Roman Catholic and resided in Timogue castle. He built a chapel in Timogue on the site of the ancient church founded by St. Mochua, and which building is now the Protestant church. Sir Walter Whelan, after some considerable time, is said to have sold the estate to Daniel Byrne’ (Anon. 1855, 193). This Mochua whose feastday is commemorated on December 24th is described as the ‘son of Lonan, of Tigh Mochua, in Laoighis, in Leinster. He was of the race of Eochaidh Finnfuathairt, from whoim Brighit is descended’ (O’Donovan 1864, 347) Inside the church a memorial dating from 1715 has been inserted into the floor of the church covering the burial vault of Sir Daniel Byrne of nearby Timogue Castle. In the internal face of the N wall of the church a wall memorial dating from 1764 has been inserted marking the burial vault of Gerald Fitzgerald of Morett Castle and of his only son Gerald Fitzgerald of Timogue. According to the tablet Gerald of Morett Castle (LA009-021001-) was ‘murthered and his castle burnt there: in the reign of Queen Elizabeth’. Present C of I church still used as a place of worship and consists of a single cell undivided rectangular building with pointed cut stone chamfered doorway of late 16th / early 17th century date in centre of W gable. The cut stone doorway has fine punch dressed chamfered jambs with drafted margins typical of 16th / 17th century appearance. The church is lit by 3 large sash windows in the N and S walls of 18th century date some of which retain their original glazing. One of the windows in the S wall of the church has an inscription cut into the glass pane which reads ‘This Church Painted by W Dobbin May 1915 Sinking of the Louisitania by the Germans Will the allies beat them or will it be a draw he who reads this in years to come will know’. A bellcote rises from the apex of the W gable on top of which there is a weather vane with the date 1736. This weather vane made circa 1964 when the church was being restored replaced an earlier weather vane which consisted of a dragons head with mouth open with the date 1736 in the open mouth (pers. comm. Gordon Bradley). Wooden pews date from the 18th century and are believed to be contemporaneous with the 1736 date on the weather vane although they may date from a later period. The date on the weather vane probably commemorates when the church was first refurbished. In 1964 the church was re-opened after the church had been restored after new lighting and heating system had been installed. An important feature inside the church is the arrangement of the pulpit and reading desks arranged around and behind the Holy Communion table which is the only surviving example in Ireland (Anon. 1964). A similar arrangement once existed inside the church of St. George in Dublin (Anon. 1964). The high pulpit at the east end of the church is located behind and above the communion table with the reading desk on the S side and the clerk’s desk on the N side. The altar stands beneath the pulpit and the sanctuary is enclosed by a bow-fronted altar-rail. All the pews face east except from one located on each side of the altar. The placement of the pulpit behind the altar suggests that the church was implying that the word was more important than the sacrament (Yates 1991, 85). 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: 3 June 2015