Ruin — Danestown

Located on a slight rise of a S-facing slope near the W head of a small W-E valley. A church at Daveney is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation (1302-06) of Pope Nicholas IV (Cal. doc. Ire. 5, 255). Ussher (1622) describes the church of Danistowne as repaired and the chancel as ruined (Erlington 1847-74, 1, lxxv). According to Dopping (1682-5) the church and chancel had been ruined since 1641 and it was not enclosed (Elliot 1972, 59). The conserved remains of part of the S wall (L c. 3m; H 2m), and parts of the W and N walls indicate a rectangular building (int. dims 10m plus E-W; 5.7m N-S) within a subrectangular graveyard (dims c. 65m NE-SW; c. 30m NW-SE at NE to c. 48m NE-SW at SW) defined by a stone-faced earthen bank (Wth c. 4-5m). The inscriptions of many of the headstones have been published (Moore et al. 1974). Three pieces of window sill are used as grave-markers, and the head of an ogee-headed window and pieces of window tracery are in the graveyard. Inside the entrance on the N side of the graveyard and secured to the masonry of the bank there is part of the bottom of the basin of an octagonal font (dim. 0.3m; H 0.25m) and part of its waisted stem (dim. 0.32m; H 0.17m) with a cordon. The perimeter of Danestown rath (ME032-007----) is c. 15m outside the graveyard to the NE. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 23 January 2015