Church (in ruins) — Graigue (dorrha Par.)

Situated on top of a natural rise of ground overlooking Pallas River 50m to W. Site of Pallas Castle (TN005-006001-) 190m to SW, Toberdima holy well (TN005-007001-) and St. Dima's Stone (TN005-007002-) 240m to E. Sraduff House stands 1.4km to the SSE. The present remains consist of the ruins of a late medieval church and graveyard (TN005-005003-) in W quadrant of a possible early Christian ecclesiastical enclosure (TN005-005002-) the enclosing bank of which is visible from N through W to S. A 19th century C. of I. church (NIAH Reg. No. 22400503) stands 16m S of the medieval church ruins. In the 17th century the ruins of a fulling mill and a corn mill (TN005-004----) were described as standing on Pallas River to the SW of the church in the adjoining townland of Gurteen (Pallas) (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 321). The 1838 edition of the OSi 6-inch map shows a 'Mill in Ruins' at this location and these ruins may have been located on or in close proximity to the site of the medieval mill. The castle, mill and church land are depicted on the 17th century Down Survey map of Lower Ormond Barony where they are shown standing in the townland of Graigue in the united parishes of 'Durra [Dorrha] and Bonocum [Bun an Choim/Bonahum] (Hib. Reg.). On the Down Survey parish map of Dorrha and Bunachum the mill is shown standing on the W bank of the river standing in the townland of Pallis which today is part of the townland of Gurteen (NLI, MS 721). Medieval church described in 1615 as the 'Rectory of Dorrha' which at the time had no curate, the appointment of which belonged to nearby Augustinian priory (TN004-010006-) at Lorrha (Murphy 1914, 223). Dorrha Church was the parish church of the united parishes of Dorrha and Bonahum (TN001-013001-) and is described in the Civil Survey of 1654-56 as containing 'six plantation acres of Glebeland whereof belongs to the Parish of Durra three acres situated on the south close by the Church Yard of the Church of Durra [Dorrha]' (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 320). Church ruins described in 1840 as following; ‘The old Church was, it appears, in use at a period not very far back, and was built of limestone and lime and sand mortar. The E gable remains perfect; there is a small bit of the North wall remains attached to it; there is a large portion of the same wall at the west end. A modern stone wall runs between both portions, they being now arranged in the wall that encloses the churchyard. These portions of the N. wall retain nearly the original height. The greater part of, or at least half, the South side wall remains attached to the East gable. The remainder of it to west end is destroyed. The S. west angle, original height remains. The west gable is destroyed. Rubbish lies round the place of it. Length of the building was 56 feet [17m]; breadth was 19 feet 6 inches [5.94m]. Height of the sidewalls was 9½ feet [2.9m]; thickness 3 feet [0.9m]. On E. gable was a window of masonwork with a segment[al] arch inside, now stopt up with masonwork. On N. wall near E. gable is a narrow window, pointed, and constructed of chiseled limestone outside. The inside is masonwork, and has a segment[al] arch. Between it and the gable, is fixed in N. wall a monumental stone, with an inscription. There is a window on S. wall near E gable, masonwork inside where it has a segment[al] arch. It is curvilineally pointed outside, and is constructed of chiseled limestone, measuring near 6 inches [0.18m] in breadth, and 2 feet near 11 inches [0.9m] in height. The window on N. wall is not so high as this one, the point is not formed of the same kind of lines. The curve lines do no undulate in the N. window. The breadth of the N. one, is same with that of the S. one’ (O’Flanagan 1930, vol. 3, 29-30). The church ruins were described in 1951 as a 'parish church in the united parishes of Dorrha and Bonahum. A comparatively modern ruin. The W gable is gone, with portions of both walls. In the E gable is portion of a segmented window and on the N wall a narrow pointed light. There is another window in the S wall. The altar slab remains and a carved human head over a mullioned window on E gable. This window is of date circa A.D. 1500 and is cusped at the top. The human head and most of the other details are now so heavily infested with ivy that they cannot be seen' (Gleeson 1951, 104). The present remains consists of a rectangular church (ext. dims. 7.4m N-S; 18.6m E-W; wall T. 0.8m) built with roughly coursed limestone boulders with only the E gable, N wall and E end of the S wall surviving intact, elsewhere grass-covered wall-footings survive. At the E end of the N and S walls there are single-light windows. The single light window at E end of S wall has an ogee-headed arch, with a pointed single light window directly opposite in the N wall of the church. There is a blocked-up ogee-headed single-light window with hollowed spandrels in the E gable. The E window has an external rectangular hood-moulding with pointed terminals and a carved head of a possible bishop wearing what appears to be a mitre above the hood-moulding. The E window has been modified in the 18th century when it was blocked up and converted into a stone surround for a memorial plaque belonging to the Antisell family of Sraduff. Two corbels one of which is decorated with a winged monk or cleric, the other corbel also contained a carving which has been broken off in modern times. These stone carvings make have been taken from Lorrha Dominican Priory (TN004-010001-) where there is an identical carved winged monk by the Antisell family of Sraduff House. In 1709 the burial ground was enclosed with a stone wall by Christopher Antisell and a private walled burial enclosure was built onto the E gable of the church. It may have been at this time that the E window was blocked up and converted into the decorated surround for the memorial plaque of this family burial enclosure. Internally the church has a small stone altar (approx. dims. 1.74m x 0.5m) at the centre of the E gable with an aumbry or wall cupboard [H 0.3m x 0.43m Wth x D 0.35m) to the S of the altar and a second aumbry (dims. H 0.52m x Wth 0.4m x D 0.4m) at the E end of the S wall underneath the S window. A memorial plaque carved in 1705 and dedicated to Lord Bernard O'Kennedy of Coolross and his wife Eleanor Kennedy nee Tubman and their son Jacob O'Kennedy was inserted into the E end of the N wall of the church. Several late medieval architectural fragments have been inserted into the ground of the enclosing graveyard, possibly as crude grave-markers. There is an earthen bank enclosing the church and graveyard in a semicircular arc from N through W to S with a steep ravine forming the boundary elsewhere. This is probably the remains of an ecclesiastical enclosure. In the Civil Survey of Tipperary 1654-6 (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 320) this enclosure is described as enclosing 'three acres belonging to the Parish of Durra are finced round with a ditch and at present wast' (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 320). The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). 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 upload/revision: 12 October 2020