Church (in ruins) — Monasteroris

Featureless late medieval parish church (ext. dims. c. 9m E-W, c. 26m N-S) built with limestone rubble. Small double bell cote on W gable, E window destroyed and built up. Possibly part of the Franciscan friary that was later converted into a parish church. Franciscan Friary founded 1325 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 255). The remains of the Franciscan friary of Monasteroris, also known as Castro Petre de Mortoto and Totmoy (Tuath muighe). The record of its founding describes how the minister provincial and Friars Minor in Ireland accepted de Bermingham's invitation to build a chapel and dwellings in his town of 'Totemoy' in the diocese of Kildare (CPR, vol. 2, 1305-42, 245; Fitzpatrick and O'Brien 1988, 107-8). The 1550 survey of Offaly recorded that there were two castles at Monasteroris, 'one newlie builded and thother all runyose', in addition to the ruined walls of the friary 'burnyd and rasid' and a mill and orchard (Curtis 1929, 326, Fitzpatrick and O'Brien 1998, 108-9). Located on flat ground with good extensive views. In NE corner of graveyard (OF011-009002-), ruins of long rectangular church (int. dims 22m E-W; 7.4m N-S; wall T 1m) built with roughly coursed limestone rubble. The church interior has been altered by the insertion of three crypts of 19th-century date and 19th-century railing has been inserted into the E gable destroying the original window the N splay of which is still visible. A crypt has also been added externally to the N side of the W gable. The church is a multiperiod structure with the earliest period belonging to the late 13th/early 14th-century which is evidenced by a narrow single light window at the E end of the S wall with jambs displaying diagonal stone tooling. This window has been reset into the S wall in order to make the window smaller with evidence of an earlier blocked up splay to the W of surviving splay. The window is set inside a wide round arched embrasure. Originally there were four such embrasures on the N and S walls. The window at the E end of the N wall is the only other window to survive the rest were blocked up when the crypts were inserted into the church after it was abandoned in 1778. According to Comerford (1883, 140) there was a double bellcote on top of the W gable of which a single round arched bellcote survives today. No evidence of an original door was found. Two blocked doors on the W gable are probably 19th-century constructions contemporary with the crypts. Above these two doors on the W gable are two blocked windows probably late medieval in date. Punch dressed stone located on the interior of the W wall off centre to the N probably incorporated into the gable during the rebuilding phase in the 16th-century when the church was granted to Nicholas Herbert. Several pieces of a traceried window have been found in the graveyard along with two limestone punch dressed window jambs with bar holes of late medieval date. A single piece of Dundry stone belonging to a window was found during recent graveyard clean up. The church is probably part of the original Franciscan Abbey founded in 1325 which was altered in the late medieval period and again in the 19th-century. The buildings and earthworks to the NE of the church also belong to this 14th-century foundation. The graveyard contains some fine examples of late 17th-century headstones (OF011-009003/004/005-). (Comerford 1883, 140; O' Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, 29-30) Possible remains of the deserted medieval settlement of 'Totemoy' (OF011-009006-) may be located in the field immediately to the W of the church and graveyard. Remains of a possible castle that may be the original Castro Petre (Peter's Castle) (OF011-011----) is located in the field to the NE of the church. 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. Date of upload: 23 May 2011