Site of Killone Church

Situated towards the bottom of a gentle S-facing slope with a WNW-ESE stream to the S. This is an early ecclesiastical site known as 'Cíll Eoghan' (Power 1952, 416) defined by an ecclesiastical enclosure (WA002-040003-). This is a subcircular grass-covered area (ext. dims. c. 77m N-S; 53m E-W) bisected E-W by the Rathgormuck-Clonmel road (R678). N of the road the area is defined by a widely spread bank (Wth 8m; H 0.3-0.5m); S of the road the bank is reduced to a scarp at E and an irregular scarp at W. Centrally located in the S half is an overgrown cairn (WA002-040007-) of collapsed material (dims. 7m N-S; 4m E-W; H 1m), which may contain the remains of the church. On its W side is a conglomerate double bullaun stone (WA002-040005-) (dims. 1.2m x 0.55m; T 0.3m) with two basins (diam. 28-30cm; D 13cm: diam. 30-32cm; D 15cm). Three stones just to the W were described as a megalithic structure (WA002-040006-) ' 14 feet by 4 feet' and a stone '5 feet by 5 feet by 1.5 feet' was also thought to be a megalitic structure (WA002-040008-) (Lyons 1948, 178), but these features do not survive, and the classification is uncertain. There is no evidence of a graveyard (WA002-040002-), but the site of Tobar Eóin Well (WA002-040004-) is marked on the 1840 and 1928 eds of the OS 6-inch map as just outside the enclosure at SW. The original well is no longer evident but a pattern was held at it on August 15th until it was supressed in 1825 (Power 1952, 416), and the name is now applied to a natural spring c. 530m to the ESE. Lyons, P. (1948) Notes and querries - Double bullaun at Park, Parish of Rathgormuck, Co. Waterford. JRSAI 78, 178ff. Power, P. (1952) The placenames of the Decies. (second ed.) Cork University Press. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 27th August, 2010.