Church (in ruins) — Ballynagigla

Located at the bottom of the N-S valley of the Ballyristeen stream, on its W bank. This is the parish church of Monksland and the reputed site of the Cistercian monastery of Glanawydan, founded c. 1171 as a daughterhouse of Inishlounaght, Co. Tipperary (Power 1978, 28). Glanawydan was suppressed in 1228 at which stage it was already in decline and for a brief period it became a possession of the Cistercian abbey at Dunbrody, Co. Wexford. There are references to the parish church here from 1291 and it remained impropriate to Inishlounaght until the Dissolution in 1541 (Power 1938, 99-100). The church was described by J. O'Donovan c. 1840 (O'Flanagan 1929, 23-4) as comprising only the N wall and W gable (int. dims. c. 14.2m E-W; c. 5.4m N-S). The only features were a doorway at the S end of the W gable with a rectangular window immediately above, and a rectangular window in the centre of the gable with a belfry overhead. A ledge for a loft was also noted (Power 1896, 198-200). The church is now reduced to an elongated grass-covered cairn of rubble, oriented E-W, through which the outline of the structure is still discernible (ext. dims. 16.3m E-W; 8.2m N-S). The doorway is visible in the W gable, and a wall-footing (WA025-036005-) extending W from the SW corner of the church (L 8m) has a collapsed doorway at the W end. The church is within a field of c. 1ha with an uneven surface, but there is no evidence of an enclosure (WA0256-036003-). However, it was described by O'Donovan c. 1840 (O'Flanagan 1929, 23-4) as s graveyard (WA024-032002-) 'of considerable extent and enclosed by a wall, but not much in use' . O'Bric's Well (WA025-125----) is c. 400m to S. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore. Date of upload/revision: 16th May 2011.