Bunown Church — Bunown

Poorly preserved ruins of Bunown Church stands in W quadrant of graveyard (WM022-031003-) 100m E of the shoreline of Killinure Bay at S end of Lough Ree. Lady Well (WM022-030----) 185m to SWW. Boat House 10m SSW of Lady Well contains late medieval punch-dressed chamfered stone taken from Bunown Church and reused as the head of a window in the E gable of the boathouse. The church overlooks Temple's Island (formerly known as Marie Island) 830m to SSW. Bunown Castle (WM022-022----) stands 1.1km to NNE. Only the S and W walls of the church survive upstanding and are now covered in ivy making detailed examination impossible. The W gable (approx. ext. L. 7m) stands two storeys high with a window in the centre of the wall at first floor level with aumbry located off centre to S also at first floor level. Traces of the springing of a ground floor stone vault can be seen rising from inner face of W gable which probably represents the remains of a two storey priests residence at W end of church. A small aumbry is visible at E end of S wall (approx. ext. L 17m). No visible remains of the E gable with a small portion of the NE angle intact but covered in ivy. No other features visible. During the reign of Henry the VIII a grant was issued which entailed the 'uniting and appropriating to the bishopric and see of Meath, the parochial church of Loghsewdy (WM024-005----) in co. Westmeath, and the chapels of Clonecally [Clooncallow (LF027-048001-), Co. Longford], Bonowne [Bunown], and Oghewally [Noughaval (WM016-012----)],' (Nicholls 1994, 631). Medieval church of Bunowen and its 4 acres of glebeland are depicted standing on the shoreline of Killinure Bay on the 1654-9 Down Survey map of Bunowen parish (NLI, MS 723-4). In 1837 the site was described as the 'ruins of the ancient church, in which are some monuments to the Dillon family, are romantically situated on the verdant bank and at the very extremity of the Inner Lake; and a little higher up are the ruins of the ancient castle of Benowen' (Lewis 1837, 205). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 20 December 2017