Inch Church (in Ruins), Grave Yd. — Magherareagh (inch Par.)

Situated on a natural hillock in flat pasture with a nearby motte (TN034-090002) to the E. Listed in the ecclesiastical taxation of the Diocese of Cashel in 1302 (CDI, vol. 5, 284). The poorly preserved ivy-clad remains of a simple rectangular church (ext. dims. 10.4m N-S; 22.6m E-W; wall T 0.9m) constructed with roughly coursed limestone rubble. A round-arched punch- dressed chamfered doorway lies at the W end of the S wall with a carved head which acted as a possible hood-moulding terminal to the W of the doorway. The carved head is pear-shaped with a grooved neck, incised ears, open mouth, oval eyes, incised hair across the forehead and a flat protruding nose. A nineteenth-century Gothic-style pointed doorway directly opposite the main entrance in the N wall gives access to a burial vault. The E gable has a twin-light ogee-headed window with finely punch-dressed jambstones. There are no visible remains of the broken piscina in the N wall described in the ITA survey in 1945. The graveyard (TN034-090005) has eighteenth and nineteenth-century headstones visible and is enclosed by a nineteenth-century stone 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