Tullaghmelan Church (in ruins) — Tullaghmelan

On a slight natural rise in undulating terrain, with surrounding fields under pasture and a road adjacent to the graveyard on the S side. The church is roughly centrally placed within the graveyard (TS082-078001-). The rectangular church (ext. dims. 21m E-W x 9.75m N-S) is composed of limestone and sandstone rubble, roughly coursed, (wall T 1.3-1.4m), with a slight base-batter on the S wall. Cut quoins are roughly dressed, but only the lower quoins survive at the NW and SE angles, the SW angle having collapsed with only the lowest course surviving. The ground level, both internally and externally, appears to have risen. The church was entered though a pointed doorway, surmounted by hood-moulding, in the S wall, and an opposing, poorly-preserved doorway in the N wall. At the apex of the S doorway there is a carved head of a bishop wearing a mitre. The egg-shaped face with a long neck is quite worn, with pronounced ears, almond-shaped eyes and poorly-preserved nose and mouth. According to the OS Letters the head is 'supposed to represent 'Maolan, Eapscop. [Bishop] 25 Dec.' (O'Flanagan 1930, vol.1, 26). Of the N doorway only the lower E jambs survive, while the voussoirs of the segmental arched-embrasure are in a precarious position, some already fallen into the entrance. In the S wall there are two blocked windows. There may have been a third window at the E end of the S wall where the masonry is broken out. There are the remains of a window embrasure in the centre of the N wall. The W gable (H c. 6m) is intact, with steep-pitched roof and central ogee-headed single-light (H 1.55m; H above ext. ground level c. 2.3m) with external chamfer. Both the E gable (H 2.2m), N and S wall (H c. 2.6m) are heavily ivy clad. The E gable has largely collapsed and the E window is broken out. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 12 February 2014