Aghagower Church

In the N half of a graveyard (MA088-063001-), 3m NE of a round tower (MA088-063003-).

This medieval church is a National Monument in state ownership (No. 96). It is indicated on the 1838 and 1929 OS 6-inch maps as ‘Abbey (in Ruins)’.

Tírechán, who compiled his biography of St Patrick in the 7th century, claims that St. Patrick founded the first church in Aghagower in the 5th century, and appointed St. Senach as bishop (Gwynne and Hadcock 1970, 28). The location is strategic, mid-way along an ancient routeway, which in the medieval period evolved into the Togher Patrick (MA088-062----), an important pilgrimage route between Ballintober Abbey (MA089-058001-) and Croagh Patrick (MA087-044001-). Aghagower became a principal stopping point on the route, and this greatly aided the monastery in becoming one of the preeminent ecclesiastical centres in Mayo. It was clearly flourishing in late 11th or 12th century when it had the resources to construct the round tower. One of the earliest mentions of Aghaower is in the Annals of the Four Masters, which records that in 1094 the ‘airchinneach [erenagh or church official] of Achadh-fabhair was killed by the men of Ceara.’ (O’Donovan 1848-51). In the Annals of Connaught the death is recorded on 15th December 1233 of Donn Cathaig, ‘airchinnech’ of Aghagower, who is eulogised as ‘a man reverenced by the clergy and laity for his qualities of mind and body; the most generous bestower of cattle and food in his age; the protector of the wretched and the prosperous; an honour to his land and country; the reconciler of all disputes between his own household and the public in general.’ A few years later in 1247 ‘Benedictus Mag Oirechtaig, erenagh of Aghagower, was treacherously slain at the festival of the Cross, the third day of Summer’, and in 1248 John d’Exeter marched through Aghagower during his campaign to subdue a revolt among the Gaelic clans in SW Mayo (Freeman, A.M. 1944). These references, though scanty, serve to illustrate how deeply interwoven the monastery was into the political and social life of the era. By the early 13th century Aghagower was one of the episcopal manors of the Archbishop of Tuam, and in the Taxation of 1306 it is taxed at the high value of £4.

The ruined church that now stand in the graveyard is late medieval in date, but incorporates a number of earlier features, which suggest that it may be built on or close to the site of an earlier church. It consists of a rectangular building (int. dim. 17.1m E−W; 7.9m N−S) constructed of mortared limestone, with a few sandstone blocks. The E gable, the S wall and the E part of the N wall stand more or less to their full original height; the W end of the N wall and the W gable have collapsed and only the lower courses survive. Two rooms, a sacristy at S and a possible tomb or shrine at N, are attached to the exterior of the E gable, flanking the central E window.

The North wall (H 3.9m; T c. 0.75m) of the church is notable for the inclusion of sandstone flags as well as the limestone blocks, which are used exclusively in the other three walls.

The S wall (H 4m; T 0.8-0.9m) features a doorway and two windows. The plain but neatly constructed doorway (H 2m; Wth 1.35m) is located towards the W end of the wall. It has a round-headed arch of sandstone blocks, topped on the external face with simple round-arched hollow-chamfered hood. It is Romanesque in style, suggesting a date in the late 12th/early 13th century. To E of the door, roughly mid-way along the S wall, is an inwardly-splayed window, which has a cusped head, now missing its uppermost stone. On the exterior, the punch-dressed, chamfered jamb stones have decorated spandrels, framed at top by a square hood moulding. Tucked into the lower E angle of the hood moulding is a small carved human head with simply delineated facial features and a thin raised horizontal band across the forehead, which may represent a form of headgear. At the E end of the wall is a narrow ogee-headed window, which features glazing bar holes.

The W gable survives to a height of c. 1.35m. Traces of a doorway (Wth 0.9m) are visible towards its N end, which probably predates the doorway in the S wall and may be a remnant of an earlier church, replaced by the current building. The external face of this wall is concealed by the considerable build-up of ground level which has taken place in the graveyard over centuries.

The E gable has a tall central window (Wth 1.7m; H c. 4.8m) featuring a trio of round-headed lancets with simple switch-line tracery above, and a pointed-arched external hood moulding. A small human head is carved on the northernmost mullion. The architectural style suggests a 15th-century date for this window. At the S end of the E gable there is a pointed arched doorway (H 1.48m; Wth 0.7m), with punch-dressed stones in the arch and jambs. It gives access to the sacristy, a rectangular room (int. dims. 2.9m N−S; 1.9m E−W) attached to the external face of the E gable, with its S wall in line with the S wall of the main body of the church. The N and S wall of the sacristy survive to almost full height at their W end, where they abut the E gable of the church, and a rebate to carry the roof is visible at the top of the walls. There is small, square window towards the W end of the S wall. The E wall is in poor condition, and contains the lower portion of a centrally set window, now blocked externally by a graveslab. Three rectangular aumbrys or recesses are built into the interior wall faces, one at the E end and one at the W end of the S wall, and one at the E end of the N wall.

Another rectangular, stone-built and stone-roofed room (ext. dims. 2.7m N−S; 4m E−W) is attached to the N end of the E gable of the church, with its N wall in line with the N wall of the church. Access is from within the main body of the church through a small rectangular opening (Wth 0.5m; H 0.9m) at a height of 1.1m above interior ground level. The opening, which is framed by punch-dressed jambs, is largely blocked up, but a gap at top affords a view into the chamber, revealing a pointed arched vault. Traces of mortar with wicker impressions are visible. This enigmatic room may have been a tomb or alternatively a shrine for relics, which pilgrims could view (Corlett 2001, 117).

The interior of the church now has a gravel surface in which are set several graveslabs of 18th- and 19th-century date. A modern rectangular grave structure abuts the E end of the exterior face of the S wall of the church.

A penitential station (MA088-063004-), named ‘Labba Patrick’ is located 30m to S in the SE corner of the graveyard. Two holy wells flank the crossroads to NW of the graveyard, one (MA088-063005-) is immediately outside the graveyard wall at NW, and the other (MA088-063006-) 7m NNW of the graveyard. Another medieval church (MA088-064----), named ‘Templenafiacal’, is located 240m to NE.