Church in ruins — Killulagh

Medieval parish church dedicated to St. Lonán whose feast day fell on the 12th of November (Ó Riain 2011, 403). The medieval parish church and graveyard may have been built on the site of an early Christian monastery founded by St. Lonán. In 1412 John Nugent a priest in the diocese of Meath was assigned to the 'parish church of St. Lonanus [Lonán], Kylwelagh [Killulagh], in the said diocese, by the death of Henry Okelly' (Cal. papal letters, 367). In 1462 there was a reference in the Irish Chancery Letters to the estate of James Nugent who was described as 'chaplain, rector of the church of St. Lonanus of Kilwelagh' (CIRCLE, CR 1 Edw. IV, No. 53; chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/1-edward-iv/51). Situated on elevated grassland with good views of the surrounding countryside, poorly drained reclaimed land surrounding Killulagh Church and graveyard. Stream located 75m to W, tower house (WM013-059----) 630m to E, motte castle (WM013-058----) 320m to SSW. Only the ivy-covered SW gable of the medieval parish church of Killulagh stands in the SW quadrant of an oval-shaped graveyard (WM013-057001-). Only the ivy-covered SW gable (int. dims. 5.65m N-S; wall T 0.9m), with short sections of the adjoining N and S walls (L 4m; H of S wall 1.3m; N wall 3m) of the church survive upstanding. There are no visible remains of the outline for the rest of the church which appears to haven destroyed by post-1700 burial plots. The ivy-covered SW gable has an external base batter which may have supported a belfry rising from the apex of the gable. The SW gable contains a broken out rectangular shaped window (approx. H 2.5m above ground level) at first floor level. An offset (H 2.3m) for a wooden floor is visible on the internal face of the SW gable just below the window. An early 20th century wall memorial to the Mulligan family has been inserted into the centre of inner face of the SW gable. The voussoirs of an arch are visible in the wall just below the Mulligan memorial. A single hammer-dressed chamfered jambstone of the medieval church doorway with bullnose stop has been used as a capstone for the graveyard entrance stile located 25m to the SW. The octagonal shaft of the medieval font (WM013-057003-) and bullaun stone (WM013-057004-) are located just inside the graveyard gateway and stile. Compiled and revised by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 6 April 2018