R. C. Chapel in ruins — Ballyfarrell

Situated in a grove of trees and thorn bushes on top of esker ridge running E-W with commanding views of the surrounding countryside. Poorly preserved ivy-covered ruins of single cell undivided church (int. dims. 7.25m E-W; c. 5.7m N-S; wall T 0.85m) which appears to date from the 17th century based on wall thickness which measures 0.85m. Only the NE angle of the church survives upstanding. A section of the E end of the N wall (int. L 3.45m; H 2.2m) survives upstanding along with a short section of the N end of the E gable (int. L 1.2m; H 2.1m). The lower wall footings of the N wall (H 0.2-0.4m) and the W gable can still be seen with no surface remains visible for the line of the S wall of the church. Collapsed rubble from the E gable of the church lies on the line of this levelled wall. No doorway visible and no architectural features survive. The walls of the church were built with coursed limestone rubble with evidence of rendering still visible on external face of N wall of church. The quoin stones of the NE angle of the church have been robbed out. There is no evidence for any enclosing graveyard. The grass covered footings of a possible wall belonging to an old road can be seen a few meters to the E of the church. 30m N of the church can be seen the remains of a short section of a sunken roadway which is depicted on the 1838 edition OS 6-inch map. The dating of this roadway is uncertain but it probably is contemporaneous with the church building. This building is marked on the 1838 edition of the Ordnance Survey six-inch map as a Roman Catholic Chapel in ruins. The dating of this building in uncertain with some sources suggesting a late 17th century date while others record an early 18th century date for its foundation. In the history of the Diocese of Meath, Cogan (1867 vol II, 514) states that 'there was an old chapel at Ballyfarrell, never roofed'. The Ordnance Survey Letters of 1839 recorded that 'there is a Church in ruins in Ballyfarrell townland, but there is no burial' (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 48). In 1942 the ITA Survey recorded that a 'section of one end wall and side wall' remain standing and that 'there was no local knowledge that it is supposed to be 300yrs old' (SMR File). According to Reverend Shaw (1971, 26) the building of this church commenced shortly after 1686 and that there was over the entrance door 'the head of a stone statue, known locally as the "Cully Angel", and the new church was just ready for roofing when the English Protestants deposed King James and put William of Orange on the throne, so the Friars church was never roofed, though its gable and portion of its side walls still stand'. This stone carving has been inserted into the altar at the Mass rock in Chapel Hollow. According to the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society this church dates from the start of the 18th-century. Described by the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society in 1974 as 'W and N walls standing. This has to be a church started in 1704 but worked stopped before 1710 (OHAS file 1974). According to the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society the chapel measured '4m in length (internal) 1.3m in width. West wall 3m high. N wall 5m high' (OHAS File 1974). 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 by: Caimin O'Brien Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 24 June 2015