Church (in ruins), Grave Yd. — Moycarky

Situated on a slight rise in undulating terrain; part of the medieval settlement at Moycarky (TN047-068). Listed in the ecclesiastical taxation of the Diocese of Cashel in 1302 (CDI, vol. 5, 283). A nave (dims. 8.9m N-S;18.8m E-W; wall T 0.9m) and chancel (dims. 7.26m N-S; 10.7m E-W; wall T 0.8m) church constructed of coursed large chunky blocks of limestone with large quoinstones alternating with smaller stones. Three phases of building are apparent. The first phase consists of a simple rectangular church, now the nave, entered through a round-headed doorway at the W end of the S wall. The S wall has a breach through the centre, with recent rebuilding on the E side giving it a straight edge. There is evidence of a window at the E end of the S wall with splayed ingoings but the light itself has been crudely blocked up and the lower end of the embrasure partly broken away. The W wall has remains of a tall central round-headed embrasure with splayed ingoings, which was superseded by a single ogee-headed window with internal splayed rebate and external chamfer. At ground level there is a small, flat-headed embrasure with splayed ingoing containing a flat-headed window rebated internally and chamfered externally. Roughly level with the lintel of this embrasure are four corbels along the W wall, one broken, with a beam slot in the W end of the N wall and a cruder beam slot in the opposing S wall to receive a cross-beam. The N wall has a gap in the W end which has been crudely filled with stones cemented together, suggesting that there was an opposing door here as there appear to be remains of jambs on the E side which are splaying internally. Another gap towards the E end of the N wall may be a collapsed window. The former E gable has the remains of a central light with a round-headed arch and splayed ingoings. This window was partially knocked out and the original light blocked up when the chancel was added in the fifteenth century. A round-headed chancel arch, with chamfered edge on both sides and diagonal tooling, was inserted in the former E gable of the church. Probably also at this time the gable was built up above the original window level as the masonry is different, consisting of smaller roughly coursed stones. In the sixteenth/seventeenth century a doorway consisting of an almost round-headed slightly pointed arch set within a segmental-headed embrasure was inserted in the centre of the chancel arch, the intervening space being infilled. A large eye-stone on the S side with punch-tooling is similar to that on an ogee window in the W gable. The chancel could be entered through a tall, pointed doorway at the W end of the S wall. It was lit by a small, flat-headed single light at the E end of the S wall and by a two-light ogee-headed window in the E gable, which externally has decorated cusps and a hood-moulding. The central mullion is missing, however portion of it is acting as a grave marker in the graveyard (TN047-068008) S of the church. The E gable of the chancel is surmounted by a bellcote with cut stone quoins and bellcote surround. The opening for the bell is flat-headed and lintelled. 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