Site of Kilcolmanbara Church — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Kilcolmanbara Church stood on level pasture at the west end of the Kilcorney Valley, traditionally believed to be the oldest worship site in that area and dedicated to St Colman Baire. The building has vanished entirely, leaving only a low rectangular cairn covered in reeds where the walls once rose. Higher ground overlookes the flat space, creating a bowl-like setting that may have helped the church feel enclosed and protected. A person could still kneel beside the reeds and imagine the saint living nearby in the cashel, bridging the gap between the lost structure and the living landscape.

On level ground in pasture near W end of the Kilcorney Valley, overlooked by higher ground all around. Named ‘Site of Kilcolmanvara Church’ on the 1842 ed. of the OS 6-inch map. On the OS 25-inch plan (1897), the symbol for ‘Site of’ is shown within a rectangular area (c. 11.8m NE-SW; c. 7.5m NW-SE) defined by a broken line. The Ordnance Survey Letters (Comber 1997, 76) note that it was traditionally believed that this was the site of the oldest church in Kilcorney and that it was dedicated to St Colman Baire. The saint was believed to have lived in the nearby cashel (CL009-023----), c. 280m to the NNW (ibid.). The church has been levelled and all that survive is a low subrectangular cairn (c. 16m NE–SW; c. 8m NW–SE; H c. 1m) covered in reeds. (Large 2011, 74-5) Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Conn Herriott Date of upload: 17 December 2021

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