Church (in Ruins) — Delgany

Situated in Delgany village on a gentle S-facing slope overlooking a stream valley. A nave (int. dims. 14m x 6.2m) and chancel (int. dims. c. 7.4m x 4m) church which remained in use until c. 1789. The walls survive only at lower levels apart from a portion of the N wall of the nave and are of uncoursed rubble with large blocks towards the wall footings. The inner face of the nave retains some plaster. The walls of the chancel are thicker (T 1m) than those of the nave (T 0.75m) and contain more large blocks. A single stone protruding from the N wall of the nave may indicate the junction between the nave and chancel. A doorway occurs in the S side of the nave with a large flagstone sill and there is an indication of a window opposite in the N wall. Some early nineteenth-century headstones occur within the church which stands at the S side of a trapezoidal graveyard (dims. 70m x (max.) 45m). The remains of a granite high cross are situated to the N of the church and consist of the lower portion of the cross-shaft with rectangular section and chamfered edges (H 1.87m; 0.47m x 0.3m). The W, S and E faces have the remains of rebated panels and six (indecipherable) lines of script survive on the S face (Harbison 1992, 61). A subrectangular font forms part of a low wall outside the doorway of the church. The graveyard is enclosed by a modern (nineteenth-century) wall, and contains several early eighteenth-century headstones. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 07 February 2013