Clonkeen Church (in ruins) — Clonkeen (barrington)

National Monument No. 84 (Harbison 1970, 147). Situated on flat pasture immediately N of the Murroe road (R506) with post-1700 cottage immediately to W and modern bungalow to E. Clonkeen church stands in N quadrant of graveyard. The N and E wall of the graveyard are only 4m N and E of the church respectively. The E graveyard boundary forms the E townland boundary with Maddyboy. The field to the N of the graveyard and S of the road formed part of the glebe belonging to Clonkeen Church as depicted on 1840 ed. OS 6-inch map. Multi-period church, the E two thirds of the present church was built some time before the 11th century. In the mid-12th century the church was extended to the W with the construction of a new Romanesque W doorway. In the 15th century a new twin light ogee-headed window was inserted into the centre of the E gable and a single light ogee headed window inserted into the S wall located off centre to E. In 1881 repair works were carried out on the church by the Board of Public Works. A monastery was founded at Clonkeen (Cluain Caoin) by Modhíomóg or Díomán in the 6th/7th century (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 377; Ó Riain 2011, 266). His feast-day was remembered on the 26th of April and the 10th of December (Ó Riain 2011, 266-7). The parish of Clonkeen is the most W parish in the diocese of Emly (Seymour 1906-07, 367). In 1615, Clonkeen Church was listed as a chapel with no curate and the rectory was mensal lands belonging to the Archbishop of Cashel (ibid.). The chapel appears to be in ruins for in this year it was recorded that 'Clonkenyn Chapel, down, in Carkinlis Deanery' (Westropp 1904-5, 439). In 1634-5 the church lands of Clonkeen were described as the ‘Manor of Cloynkine did anciently consist of 8 Plowlands, and the Bishop did give the same to the Abbot of Wothney (Abbey Owney LI014-014002-) for a certain time for the Tythes of certain livings impropriate to the said Abbey, and now the farmers of the said Abbey hold the sd Tieths and all ye sd landes, saving one Plowland in Cloynkine, the ⅓ part of which Plowland is in the possession of Richard mcWilliam Bourke, of Killonan, and another third part of ye sd Plowlands is in the possession of the Lord Bourke, of Brittas, and the other 3rd part of the same Plowland is in the possession of ye .... of Ballaghsymon, and another Plowland is in Balliginore in the possession of ye sd Lord of Brittas, and half a Plowland called Maddybuoy in the possession of Geoffrey fitz Ullick Bourke, and his brother, Edmond fitz Ullick Bourke’ (ibid., 368). In 1837 it was recorded that the W doorway of the church had been badly damaged by Whiteboys in 1762 and had not been repaired by that time (Lewis 1837, 33, 51). Church ruins described in 1877 as a ‘simple oblong chamber measuring 46 ft. [14m] in length, by 17 ft. 10 in. [5.43m] wide; the walls which are perfect, are 3ft. [0.9m] thick except the west gable, which is 3ft. 10in. [1.16m] The masonry is of sandstone in rough courses, the blocks unworked and of ordinary size. The north wall rests upon a plinth. There are pilasters at the corners of the east and west ends, 2 ft. [0.6m] deep and 2ft. 9in. [0.83m] wide at the west end, and 10in. [0.25m] deep and 2ft. 7in. [0.78m] wide at the east. The west doorway is 8ft. [2.43m] high, 3 ft. 2in. [0.96m] wide at the base, and 3ft [0.9m], wide at the springing of the arch. It is formed of finely chiselled sandstone. The jamb consists of two rectangular piers, which is a richly ornamented rounded shaft crowned by a capital exactly resembling those in the chancel arch of St. Caimin’s (CL029-009011-) at Iniscaltra. The surface of the shaft is diapered with a zigzag moulding enriched with pellets. Two of the arch members are carved in chevrons; the label moulding forms a panel enriched with ornament similar to that on the angle shafts, terminating in animal heads, and having a human head on the keystone’ (Dunraven 1877, 115). In 1881 repair works on Clonkeen Church had been completed by the Board of Works, these works included the removal of ivy, gable stone replaced and the walls were finished and pointed and their tops concreted over (49th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, 93). Westropp (1904-5, 439-40) described the church as an, ‘interesting little Romanesque oratory of the late eleventh century. It is 46 feet [14m] by 17 feet 10 inches [5.43m] ; the walls, 14 feet [4.26m] by 3 feet 10 inches [1.16m], with antae at each corner. The east, north, and two south lights had round-headed splays and lights ; the south ones defaced, and the east replaced by two pointed lights. The west door is of three recessed orders ; the arch highly decorated, with dog's-tooth mouldings and beadings’. The church building was described by Rev. Seymour in the early 1900s as; ‘an interesting little Romanesque oratory of the late eleventh century, with antae at the four corners, the west door is of three recessed orders; the arch highly decorated with dog's-tooth mouldings and beadings. The building measures internally 45 feet [13.7m] by 17 feet 3 inches [5.25m]; the door is 3 feet [0.9m] wide at the commencement of the arch, and 3 feet 3 inches [0.99m] wide at the ground. The east window is circular-headed inside, and outside is a two light ogee divided by a mullion ; while the window on the south side, near the east end, is a similar one-light, flat-topped inside. These two windows have been re-modelled, and are made of limestone, while the rest of the church is build of a kind of sandstone. On the north side, near the west end, about 6 feet 6 inches [1.98m] off the ground, is a window with circular head and wide splay, which is one of the original windows of the church. Outside, between this and the west gable, is the head of an arch. Opposite this last window, in the south side, is a curious window. It has a flattish arch, cut out of one stone, and is 2 feet 2 in. [0.66m] wide, and 8 feet 6 inches [2.59m] high. Underneath its sill is a square recess going through the wall, originally flat-topped. It is 1 foot 7 inches [0.48m] wide, and 1 foot 4 inches [0.4m] high on the inside; and owing to the fact that it has a sharply-sloping bottom, and also a roof which dips squarely down, the opening on the outside is of exactly the same dimensions’ (ibid. 368-9). Leask (1955, 129) described the church as 'a simple rectangle without any structural division into a nave and chancel; doubtless there was a timber screen between them originally. It measures 45 feet 4 inches [13.8m] in length internally which, with a breadth of 17 feet 9 inches [5.4m], gives a ratio of over 2½ to 1. In itself this suggests a relatively late date for the building. So also do the ornaments of the surviving inner jamb of the one original window (in the north wall): rolls and fillets combined with a band of beaded zig-zag ornament. The antae at both gables are examples of the late survival of these features (cf. also St. Cronan's Church (TN012-010001-) at Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. Two other windows are insertions of fifteenth-century style'. Present remains consist of a multi-period rectangular church (int. dims 14.6m E-W by 5.5m N-S) with antae on both gables entered through a finely carved Romanesque round-headed sandstone doorway of three orders in centre of W gable. The walls survive to full height and two distinctive styles of masonry are visible in the fabric of the building suggesting that the church was extended. Harbison (1970, 147) suggested that the eastern two thirds of the church was added in the 15th century. However Ó Carragáin (2010, 307) suggested that the church was extended to the W in the Romanesque period. The fabric at the W end of the church consists of roughly coursed large sandstone and appears date from the Romanesque period and is contemporaneous with the W doorway and the single light round-headed window located at W end of N wall. This Romanesque round-hea