Ardskeagh Church

In the centre of a disused graveyard (CO003-014001-). The walls of this ruinous rectangular 12th-century church (11.9m E-W; 6.42 to 6.54m N-S), were rebuilt by the OPW (see pre-conservation photograph in Grove-white 1905, 72-73). Ardskeagh is associated with St Sciath, a female saint who lived in the 6th century (O’Hanlon 1875-1903, vol. 1, 20-2 and vol. 9, 174-5). In the Middle ages it was known as Fersketh, from the Irish Feart Sceithe, one possible meaning of which is ‘the grave of Sciath’ (Grove-White ibid., 74). The church was included in the Papal Taxation lists for 1291; it was reported 'in ruins' by 1615 (Brady 1863, vol. 2, 26).

The side walls now stand to c. 1.2m, the E wall to c. 1m, and the W wall to c. 3m. A plinth (Wth 0.15m; H 0.08m) is visible along the base of the N wall. The W and E walls extend beyond the S wall, by 1m and 1.2m respectively. The only surviving opening is a doorway (Wth 0.93m, H 2.18m) in the centre of the W wall. It was framed by cut-sandstone blocks, of which remain the jamb and two springing stones of the round-headed arch on the S side, and only the lower courses of the jamb stones on the N side. All are of red sandstone ashlar, with shallow architrave on the lower courses; the location of nib holes suggests that the arch stones are not in their original position. There is a projecting stone with socket hole positioned mid-way up the S jamb, facing into the church. Part of the mullion of a window has been placed on top of the E wall, and the cut-sandstone head of a round-arched window has been cemented onto the top of the S wall. Both the latter and the doorway are Romanesque in character. Interestingly, on the external face of many of the stones in the lower courses of the walls are three small incisions or notches arranged in a ‘dolmen’ like fashion; similar markings were noted at Killeenemer church (CO019-092002-), also a Romanesque church. In the SE, SW and NW corners of the church are a number of broken graveslabs, architectural and masonry fragments, and quernstones. Most notably, in the SE corner is part of a decorated graveslab (L 0.75m; Wth 025 to 0.52m). It bears the carving of what was likely the shaft of a cross, with two arms placed at a diagonal angle, terminating into quatrefoils. This is a design similar to some 13th-century Anglo-Norman graveslabs found elsewhere (such as in Strade Dominican friary, see MA070-067010-), comprised of a foliated or bottonée cross, where the top, bottom and arms of the cross terminate in trefoils, and with two additional arms placed at a diagonal angle underneath the main arms of the cross, which may have been meant to represent Christ’s arms on the cross. There is a motte (CO008-010----) c. 500m to the SSE.

This is a National Monument in State Guardianship (no. 314).