Kill Church (in ruins) — Blackcastle (inishlounaght Par.)

On SW-facing slope in undulating terrain, surrounded by rough meadow. Moorstown towerhouse (TS076-039001-) and bawn (TS076-039002-) are visible c. 500m uphill to NNE. The rectangular church, aligned roughly E-W, is roughly centrally placed within a graveyard (TS076-047001-). All walls survive, though the E and W ends of the S wall and the SW angle are broken out. Named 'Kill Church' on the 1st and latest ed. OS 6-inch maps, it is also known as 'Teampull na Cille' (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 41) and 'Kyle' (Power 1907, 290). According to Power (ibid.) 'Kyle was a very important and early church, allusion to which will be found in the 10th century life of St. Declan'. Ó Cearbhaill (2007, 53) associates this church with the placename Cill Bhaile na Móna which translates as the church of the town(land) of the bogland. The church (int. dims. 7.07m N-S; 14m E-W; wall T 0.98m S wall; 1.16m E gable; H 2.2-2.5m side walls, 3-4m gable) is constructed of limestone rubble, randomly coursed, and the E gable has a slight base-batter (H 0.65-0.7m; Wth 0.1m). The modified entrance doorway is towards the W end of the S wall. Much of the church is obscured by ivy, but there is a pointed single-light window in the centre of the E gable, a flat-headed single-light at the E end of the S wall and the remains of a window at the E end of the N wall. There are three 19th-century altar tombs in the E end of the church and one early 18th-century headstone in the interior dated to the 1730s. The interior surface is uneven. The church is described c. 1840 as being closed up as a burial place for the Perry family of nearby Woodrooff (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 41). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011