Church (in Ruins), Grave Yard — Kilmanaghan

By the middle of the 17th century the church of Kilmanaghan was in ruins. The terrier of the 1657 Down Survey map of Kilmanaghan parish records the existence of ‘the Ruined Church of Kilmanaghan’ (NLI MS 716). The present church ruins appear to date from the medieval period and may have been partially rebuilt when it became a Protestant church in the post-medieval period. In the late 19th century it was recorded that at Kilmanaghan, ‘the old church was uprooted and a Protestant edifice now deserted, [had been] erected on the site’ (Cogan 1867, 539). In 1801 this building was in ruins for it was described in this year as a ‘church in ruins’ (Coote 1801, 199). Located on high ground with extensive views of undulating countryside. Depicted as a rectangular church standing in the centre of an oval-shaped shaped graveyard (OF002-030002-) on the 1838 ed. OS 6-inch map. On this map the curve of the public road immediately to the E and S of the graveyard probably follows the line of a possible Early Christian enclosure (OF002-030----). Present remains consist of an ivy-covered single cell retangular church (max. ext. dims. 9.5m N-S; 17.9m E-W; wall T 0.95m) built with intermittently coursed limestone rubble. Church is entered through broken out doorway at W end of S wall. The church interior is lit by two wide flat headed windows in the S wall with no dressed stones evident around the window openings. These window openings with their flat-headed openings appear to date from the 18th century and are set into widely splayed embrasures of medieval date. The E window located in the centre of the E gable also appears to have been rebuilt during the 18th century. High up in the centre of the W gable at first floor level are the remains of broken out window. No window openings are visible in the N wall of the church. The interior of the church contains several trees and briars making detailed examination impossible. The external faces of the S, E and N walls are covered in ivy. There is good evidence of internal render on the window embrasures of the S wall and on the inner face of the W gable of the church at ground floor level. The head of a twin light ogee headed window with spandrel decorated with vine leaf motif has been reused and inserted upside down as a quoin stone in the SE angle of the church. A glazing groove and iron bar socket hole is visible on the soffit of the window, a fragment of a sandstone quernstone has been inserted the wall on top of the window fragment. A possible bullaun stone (OF002-030004-) or water stoup and engraved fragment of a headstone has also been cemented into the E end of the external face of the S wall at the SE angle of the church. A late medieval carved stone depicting an owl beside vine leaf foliage which probably formed part of a window label stop has been inserted into the external face of the S wall of the church (SMR File 02/03/1977; Lyttleton 2008, 82-3). This stone now covered in ivy is located 0.75m W of the window located at W end of S wall of church. An Early Christian sandstone cross inscribed slab (OF002-030003-) now covered in ivy has been inserted into the centre of the S wall of the church and is located 0.8m E of window located in centre of S wall of church. The Early-Christian cross-slab was found during a clean up of the graveyard in 1971 (Fanning and Ó hÉailidhe 1980, 13). It is possible that at this time the other late medieval stone fragments were inserted into the church walls. The upstanding remains suggests that these ruins date from the medieval period and was partially rebuilt in the post-medieval period when the church was used as a Protestant place of worship. At this time the medieval windows of the church may have been rebuilt with wider external window openings inserted into earlier medieval window embrasures. The internal render of the church walls may also date from the post-medieval period. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revision: 30 September 2014