Killea Church (in ruins) — Park (killea Par.)

Situated on a N-S ridge which slopes steeply to the S in an upland area with a nearby ringfort (TN029-005---) to the W. The first church at Killea may have been founded in the early Christian period by St Áed [Hugh] (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 82). In 1840 O’Donovan wrote the following about Killea: ‘the name of this Parish is in Irish Cill Aedha, signifying the Cell or Church of St. Aodh or Aidus [Áed/Hugh], but I could not ascertain which of the many Saints of that name the Patron of this Parish was, as his day is now forgotten’ (ibid., 82). However the Placenames Committee records that this townland name is derived from Cill Shléibhe meaning the church of the mountain (www.logainm.ie). In 1291 the townland of Killea is recorded as 'Kilslenne' (Ryan, Skehan and Costello 1966, 24). In the papal taxation of 1302 the 'Chapel of Kylsleny' [Cill Shléibhe / Killea] was valued at 4 marks a year (Cal. doc. Ire., 318). In 1437 the vicar of the parish church of 'Kilslew' in the deanery of Ely paid their taxes owed to Archbishop O'Hedian(Seymour 1908, 331). In 1450, Malachy Omechar [O'Meagher], a priest, was assigned to the perpetual vicarages belonging to the 'parish churches of Killeue [Killea] and Bernan [Barnane]' (Cal. papal letters, 496). In 1494, there is a reference to the prebendary of 'Kyllone' [Killea] which was associated with Donal Omekayr [O'Meagher] (Gleeson and Costello 1943, 84). In the Royal Visitation of 1615 the church and chancel of 'Kellslevey' was described as 'ruinous', with no curate in attendance and the rectory impropriety belonged to the Earl of Ormond (Murphy 1912, 289). In 1640 the Civil Survey recorded that the four acres of glebe land which belonged to the ‘Viccar of the parish of Killea’ was ‘surrounded by the arable lands of Killea’ (Simington 1934, 373). Depicted as a ruinous church standing to the S of a possible medieval house (TN029-092----) on the 1654-56 Down Survey map of the barony of Ikerrin (NLI, Ms 721). In 1840, O'Donovan recorded that the ‘old Church of Killea is a mere featureless ruin, all destroyed except a part of the south wall, seven feet [2.13m] of the height of the west gable with a small fragment of the north wall of the same height connected with it. These fragments are two feet ten inches [0.86m] in thickness, built of small hammered stones cemented with lime and sand mortar in a very rude style of masonry. I could not ascertain the length of this church as the foundation of the east gable is not traceable, but its breadth, as ascertained at the west end, was twenty one feet [6.4m].’ (O’Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 83). The church ruins were described in the early 1980s as consisting of 'a section of wall running roughly east-west, a corner of masonry due northwest of this and a submerged area in between. The former wall runs for a distance of 9m and survives to a height of 2.70m. It is built of split-stone randomly coursed masonry. The east end of this wall is breached by a badly defaced window which originally had a single light with splayed ingoings. The corner of masonry is very overgrown and does not appear to run parallel to the section of wall' (Stout 1984, 105). Depicted on the 1840 ed. OS 6-inch map as a rectangular church standing in the N quadrant of a sub-rectangular shaped graveyard (TN029-006002-). On the revised 1901 25-inch OS map only a portion of the S wall of the church and a section of the W gable are depicted as upstanding. On this map the N wall of the church and most of the E gable no longer survives upstanding. Present remains consist of the poorly preserved remains of a small rectangular church (int. dims. approx. 7m N-S; 16m E-W; wall T 0.85m) of which only a portion of the S wall and the NW angle survives - elsewhere the wall-footings indicate the outline of the church. The walls were constructed with roughly coursed sandstone rubble and the only remaining architectural feature is the W splay of a window located off-centre to the E on the S wall. There are several architectural fragments in the form of a hood-moulding terminal and jambstones embedded in the graveyard. The subrectangular shaped graveyard (TN029-006002-) is enclosed at W by a modern wall and elsewhere by a scarp which is faced externally by a stone wall and outer fosse (Wth 1-2m; D 0.5-1m). A graveyard clean up scheme carried out by FÁS in the late 1990s uncovered two quern stones, several architectural fragments belonging to the medieval church including the head of a single light and twin-light ogee-headed windows (O'Brien 2000, 191-2). A small rotary quernstone was found embedded into the surface of the graveyard to the N of the church. A second small quernstone (diam. 0.42m; T 0.07m; hole diam. 0.09m) and single light ogee-headed window of late medieval date have been inserted into the fabric of the S wall of the church in recent times. Other architectural fragments and dressed stone belonging to the medieval church have been incorporated into the fabric of the graveyard wall. The present location of the head of the twin-light ogee-headed window has not been located. 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 revised upload: 17 February 2015