Ballykelly Church (in Ruins) — Ballykelly (ballysheehan Par.)

In grassland on an E-facing slope of rising ground with good views to N, E and S, higher ground to W. Ballykelly is mentioned in 1182 as being granted to the Cistercian Oorder of Holycross by Domnall Mór Ua Bríain. In 1467 the tithes of Ballykelly featured in a dispute between the vicar of nearby Ballysheehan and the Abbot of Holycross, with the ruling in favour of the Abbot. In 1538 the Abbot of Holycross leased to Richard Archdekan, the treasurer of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Cashel 'all houses and all ecclesiastical profits in Ballykelly for the use of Margaret Butler for 62 years at the annual rent of one mark' (Meskell 1987, 84). Poorly preserved remains of rectangular church (int. dims. 6.2m N-S; 11.6m E-W; wall T 0.8m) built with roughly coursed limestone rubble, of which the N wall and W gable survives and a small portion of the W end of the S wall (L 3m). Ivy cover on the W gable obscures a centrally placed single-light window, with a second single-light window at first-floor level to S of centre. The latter window suggests that there were two floors at the W end of the church, the upper floor probably used as the priest's private quarters or presbytery of the parish church. No evidence of the E gable or most of the S wall of the church. Aerial photograph (CUCAP ATA63) taken in 1967 shows earthworks to the W of church where a retirement home is now located and a square-shaped boundary, which is not evident above ground, to the S of the church. A modern house has been built 20m to the N of the N wall of church. On the 1st ed. OS 6-inch map there is a quarry surrounding the S and E portions of the church, the S quarry also represented on the 2nd ed. The quarry was subsequently extended to the N of the church (O'Brien and Hughes 2000, 98) and this was confirmed by limited archaeological excavations in 2000 (Henry 2002, 312). Described in the OS letters as an old church of which only the N and W walls survive and the foundations of the other walls were still visible, the church measured 38 feet [11.6m] in length and 20 feet [6.1m] wide. The W gable had two windows one above each other, one of which was placed 3 and a half feet [1m] above ground, the second 9 feet [2.75m] from the ground. There is no graveyard attached to this church (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 107). A possible stoup associated with the church was discovered in a nearby garden (O'Brien 2006, 92-4). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011