Church (in ruins) — Clonakenny

Located on a low, flat-topped ridge, on the lower W side, in pasture. A rectangular enclosure (TN023-030003) is located 8.2m to the E of the E gable of the church and runs at right angles to the building. A fortified house and bawn (TN023-030001) are visible beyond this enclosure to the E. The church (dims. c. 9.1m N-S; 14.65m E-W; wall T 0.95m) is aligned E-W and is built of roughly coursed sandstone rubble with base-batter (H 1.15m; Wth 0.16m) visible. Only the E gable survives to any degree (H 3.8m) - the remaining walls are visible as foundations or low walls. A window, centrally placed in the E gable and splayed internally, has two narrow lights with the central mullion missing. The sillstone is still intact and has two nicely carved spud sockets. There are three bar-holes in the jambs. A lot of loose rubble is strewn about the site and a heap of boulders have been dumped in the SW corner, possibly obscuring the entrance. However, the W end of N wall is also badly denuded and it is possible that the doorway could have been in this position. Gleeson (1915, vol. 2, 407-8) describes the church (dims. 41ft 3in (12.6m); 23ft 8in (7.3m); wall T 3ft (0.91m)) as consisting of two gables with a portion of the W end of the S wall standing 11 ft (3.35m) high. This is the only surviving side-wall. 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. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008