Church (in ruins) — Ardpatrick

Hilltop monastery reputedly founded by St. Patrick and renamed Ardpatrick, hilltop formerly known as Tulach na Feinne [Hill of the Fianna] (Westropp 1922, 78). Folklore collected from Ardpatrick National School recorded the following details about Ardpatrick Hill; ‘On the hill here stand the remains of an abbey with small church [LI056-002008-] attached & close to both are the remains of a round tower [LI056-002003-]. St Patrick is said to have approached the hill from the west passing through the neighbouring parish of Effin. A trace of the old road was pointed out to me by an old man & referred to by some others. He called the old road 'Rian bo Padraig'. [LI056-002002-] I some years ago pointed this out to a surveyor from the Ordnance Survey Office & it is now marked on the Ordnance map. It runs up the hill from the west & its line can still be plainly seen. [Informant] Heard this from his father & from 'all the old people‘ (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0509, Page 201; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922041/4921283). Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 29) recorded that a monastery was founded at Ardpatrick by St. Patrick. The Tripartite Life of St. Patrick stated that Patrick 'desired an ecclesiastical establishment (congbail) in Ard-Pátraic; and Patrick's flagstone (lec) is there and the boundary of his church site (torainn achillí) [LI056-002006-]' (Ó Carragáin 2010, 131; Stokes 1887 vol. 1, 208-9). According to the Annals of Inisfallen in 1079 Bishop O Suairlig died at Ardpatrick, while Diarmait O Longain, coarb of Ardpatrick died here in 1113. According to the Annals of the Four Masters the monastery was burned in 1114 (O’Donovan 1856, 999). In 1129 the Annals recorded that in this year ‘Ceallach [Celsus], successor of Patrick, a son of purity, and Archbishop of the west of Europe, the only head whom the foreigners and Irish of Ireland, both laity and clergy, obeyed; after having ordained bishops, priests, and persons of every degree; after having consecrated many churches and cemeteries; after having bestowed jewels and wealth; after having established rules and good morals among all, both laity and clergy; after having spent a life of fasting, prayer, and mass-celebration; after unction and good penance, resigned his spirit to heaven, at Ard-Padraig, in Munster, on the first day of April, on Monday precisely, in the fiftieth year of his age. His body was conveyed for interment, on the Wednesday following, to Lis-mor-Mochuda, in accordance with his own will; it was waked with psalms, hymns, and canticles, and interred with honour in the tomb of the bishops, on the Thursday following. Muircheartach, son of Domhnall, was appointed to the successorship of Patrick afterwards’ (O’Donovan 1856, 1034-5). According Ó Riain (2011, 160-1) he died on the 1st of April in 1129 and later in the 17th century his feastday was celebrated on the 6th of April. Church ruins depicted on the 17th century Down Survey map of Ballingaddy parish where it is shown standing beside a tower which is presumably the remains of the round tower (LI056-002003-) in Ardpatrick (NLI, MS 718). The terrier of the Down Survey parish map recorded that in ‘Ardpatrick are the walls of a Church & a Watchtower’ (ibid.). Ardpatrick church ruins described in 1840 as follows; ‘An old Church stands in ruins on the summit of Ardpatrick Hill, which is round and high. The east and west gables have fallen into utter ruin. Thirty three feet [10m] in length of side walls at the east end fell to ruin also. The length of the building was eighty five feet [26m] and breadth twenty four feet [7.3m]. No window is visible on any of the walls that remain. There is a doorway on the north wall at the distance of twenty one and a half feet [6.5m] from the west gable (end): which is six and a half feet [1.8m] high and four feet, four inches [1.3m] broad on the inside where there is a flat arch (i.e. a small segment of a large circle) at top, which is built with hammered brown sandstone. This doorway had on the outside two arches attached to each other, the outer one semicircular and the inner pointed. The outer or semicircular one built with chiselled brown sandstone. Only four stones of the arch now remain on the west side. The remainder and the shafts that, supported it, and partly formed the sides of the doorway, have been entirely destroyed. This arch was a structure even with the wall of the Church on the external. The pointed arch and the sides on which it rests are built with chiselled limestone. It (the arch forming the doorway) is five feet four inches [1.6m] in height and three feet two inches [0.96m] in breadth. One of the stones has been removed from the back side next the ground. The semi-circular arch and the side wall with which it was on a level on the external, as has been just now remarked, projected beyond this one, one foot eight inches [0.5m] in the lower part of the sides, one foot four inches [0.4m] at the lowest part of the semicircular one that now remains and one foot one inch [0.33m] at the fourth stone, which is the one directly over the pointed arch. The side walls are about eighteen feet high [5.5m] and five feet [1.5m] thick. Materials are large blocks of red stone and cement of lime and sand mortar. There are some stones seen in the lowest part of the walls, which are no less than one and a half tuns in weight each. The side walls projected six and a half feet [2m] beyond the west gable. Here follows the form of the projecting part of one of them; it is eight feet [2.4m] thick. It is sloped in the upper part. There was a building attached to the north east corner of this church, extending in a northerly direction. Some small portions of the walls still remain. The length of this edifice was twenty five feet [7.6m] in breadth, eighteen feet [5.5m]. The walls were three feet eight inches [1.1m] thick. The stones used in construction it were not so large as those in the church just described’(O’Flanagan 1929, 86-7). Westropp (1904-5, 426-7) recorded the following details about Ardpatrick; 'W. de Burgo granted it as part of Fontemel, 1199 (C.S.P.I, vol. i., No. 95). It appears in the lists of 1201, 1291, 1302, 1410, 1418, 1591, 1615, and 1633. Records are fairly numerous. Malachi, its rector, swore obedience to the bishop, 1263 (B.B.L., p. 44); Philip Harold was vicar, 1299 (Plea R. Cal., vol. v., p. 94) ; Robert f. Henry robbed the church, 1318 (ib.,123 of xi Ed. II, m. 34). It was a small monastery, and owned Ballingowsse, Ballycowsing, Ballynanynye, and Balligertane, "nup. converb. dom. relig. de Ardpatrick dissolut.", 1589 (Inq., 19). The "converb." also held the hill, 30 acres of great measure, and 21 of small. The Langanes were hereditary coarbs (2 Inquisitions, xxxix Eliz.). The Down Survey (A. 57) gives a sketch of the church and tower, "Upon ye Ard Patricke are ye walls of a church and a watch tower," 1656. The round tower had three storeys, and a broken top. Tradition, even in the eleventh century, said that the hill was granted to St. Patrick on condition that he should remove the mountain of Cenn Febraith. This miracle made the cleft of Belach Legtha (Trip. Life, p. 209). Fabric - It stands on the shoulder of a steep ridge, with high ranges to the south. The ends had fallen in 1840. It was 85 feet [25.9m] by 24 feet [7.3m]. There was a north door 21½ feet [6.5m] from west, with a flat splay arch, and round-headed arch of gritstone, outside in which is set a later pointed door of limestone. In the south wall a deep recess, with a pointed arch, lay towards the east. At the north-east angle projected a south wing, 25 feet [7.6m] by 18½ feet [5.6m]; the walls, 3 feet 8 inches [1.1m], now nearly levelled. The walls are of large blocks, and project 6½ feet [2m] beyond the west end; they are 18 feet [5.5m] by 5 feet [1.5m]. The broken round tower [LI056-002003-] stood 39 feet [11.9m] from the north-west corner. It is 56 feet [17m] in circumference, a