Chapel in Cloonagh

The monument was inspected in 1982 and described as follows: 'A small barrel vaulted (springing level H 1.4m; vault H 2m) cell (int. dims. 2.1m N-S; c. 1.9m E-W; wall T 0.57m), entered through a low pointed doorway (H 1.95m; Wth 1.1m) constructed with ashlar blocks. This faces S onto a modern silage pit. The building is aligned N-S and according to the owner of Midgemount it was dug into the SE side of a large natural hillock. The fragmentary remains of the old Midgemount House are close by to the E. Floor level of cell not visible due to the seepage from slurry pit. It is difficult to see makeup of interior as walls are covered with vestiges of plaster. Located high up in the centre of the N wall is a small recessed area measuring 0.15m wide by 0.2m high by 0.15m deep. The function of this feature is uncertain but it may have been a wall niche. There is a second small recessed area beneath the main one measuring 0.1m wide by 0.05m high. It is likely that this is quite a late structure, possibly of penal date. The structure was situated in an area hidden from public view which may have been a consideration when it was being constructed’ (SMR File). An earlier site report from 1981 described this monument as ‘small underground structure set into the side of a hill, now surrounded by a silage pit and slurry tank. According to the owner of the land this monument was a private oratory for a 17th century Bishop Geoghegan who lived in this area. The structure could date from the 17th or 18th century’ (SMR File). Not depicted as an antiquity on any edition of the OS 6-inch maps. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 13 March 2013