Wall monument in Gardens (kilkenny City By., St. Mary’s Par.)

At St Mary's parish church (KK019-026115-) in Kilkenny. Renaissance wall monument, composed of fossiliferous limestone, to Elias Shee (d. 1613) and Margaret Archer built into the S wall of the medieval chancel of the church (Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 99; Cockerham 2009, 354; Ó Drisceoil et al. 2015, 24-5; Ó Drisceoil et al. 2016, 19.). It consists of three tiers (H 2.86m; Wth 2.27m), namely an altar-tomb, plain apart from an incised cross on the front panel, beneath a half-tester and entablature. A crown or pediment may be missing. The entablature was badly damaged by vandalism in the late 1990s but has since been rebuilt (Ó Drisceoil et al. 2015, 24-5). A frieze occupies a rectangular panel engraved in false-relief with an inscription in Latin Roman capitals that reads: HELIAE. SHEE. ARMIGERO. MVLTIS. NATVRAE. DOTIBVS. AC. MVLTIPLICIC. DOCTRINAE. ORNAMENTIS. CONSPICVO. CONJVGI. SVAVISSIMO. CHARISSIMA. VXOR. MARGARETA. ARCHER. MAESTA. POVIT. OBIIT. DIE. 27. JVLII. ANNO. DOMINI .1613 The central and main tier of the tomb is the canopy/half-tester, which has had its arches rebuilt. The back of the canopy is occupied by one long inscribed panel at the base below two smaller panels above. The inscriptions are in false-relief, Latin Roman capitals: HELIAE. SHEE. ARMIGERO. MVLTIS. NATVRAE. DOTIBVS. AC. MVLTIPLICIC. DOCTRINAE. ORNAMENTIS. CONSPICVO. CONJVGI. SVAVISSIMO. CHARISSIMA. VXOR. MARGARETA. ARCHER. MAESTA. POVIT. OBIIT. DIE. 27. JVLII. ANNO. DOMINI .1613 Compiled by: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil Date of upload: 4 January 2023

Elias Shee (d. 1613) and Margaret Archer are commemorated by a Renaissance-style wall monument in fossiliferous limestone, built into the south wall of the medieval chancel at St Mary's parish church, Kilkenny. The monument reflects the transition from medieval to early modern funerary art in Ireland.