Unofficial guide. Not the National Monuments Service, the OPW, Fáilte Ireland or the landowner. Disclaimer
At a glance
- TypeChurch
- Condition (as surveyed)Ruined
What to look for
- East window
Picked out from the Archaeological Survey description below.
Can you visit?
- No source says it is open to the public.Most monuments in Ireland stand on private farmland.
- Ask the landowner before crossing fields, close gates, leave the stones as you find them.Visiting responsibly
History and description
The private church of the Catholic Lords of Upper Ossory, situated c. 100m W of tower house (LA035-022001-). It is roofless since Cromwellian times, and no burials have taken place here since the mid-nineteenth century (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 233).
Full archaeological record 284 words
The private church of the Catholic Lords of Upper Ossory, situated c. 100m W of tower house (LA035-022001-). It is roofless since Cromwellian times, and no burials have taken place here since the mid-nineteenth century (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 233). A late sixteenth-century undivided church (L c. 19.7m; Wth c. 9.2m) built of roughly coursed limestone with an external base batter. Remains of doorway in the S wall, as well as two single-light windows with splayed opes, and a dressed limestone piscina. Single light ogee-headed window visible in W gable, and in E gable a two-light dressed limestone window with a rounded head on the inner face. Corbels, which carried a gallery at the W end project from the side walls.
Desribed by Carrigan as 'The Castle Chapel, or, as it is called, "the Church", stands in ruins, about 100 yds. west of the castle (LA035-022001-). It was the private chapel of the Catholic Lords of Upper Ossory. It is a rectangle, measuring 65.5 ft. by 30 ft. externally, and 58 ft. 3 in. by 24.25 ft. internally, the side-walls are 11 or 12 ft. high. The east window is of cut stone and chamfered; it was divided by an upright mullion; the external frame is 6 ft. high and 2 ft. wide; the arch stones are gone; there is a very plain dripstone. There is a piscina at the Epistle side of the altar; it is of cut-stone, Gothic, and slightly ornamented. The doorway, in the south wall, is destroyed, on the outside. There is an ogee-headed lancet window, of cut-stone, high up in the west gable. Corbels for the support of a gallery project from the sides.' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 233)
Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Updated 17 December 2007 · Based on the Archaeological Inventory of County Laois. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.
More ancient churches nearby
Glashare Church
Church · Glashare · Kilkenny · 4.3 km away

Coolcashin Church
Church · Coolcashin · Kilkenny · 5.0 km away
Rathlogan Church
Church · Rathlogan · Kilkenny · 5.5 km away
Durrow Church (site of)
Church · Durrow Townparks · Laois · 6.2 km away
White Church
Church · Moneynamuck (Stopford) · Kilkenny · 6.2 km away
Ballyconra Church
Church · Ballyconra · Kilkenny · 7.9 km away
Also recorded nearby
Named sites within 5 km with only a short entry in the Archaeological Survey.
- Coolcashin CastleCastle - unclassified · Coolcashin · 5.0 km · official record
Visitors' notes
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Around Cullahill Castle chapel
Other heritage nearby
- Cullahill CastleCastle · 0.1 km
- Aghmacart CastleCastle · 2.3 km
- St John's WellHoly well · 2.4 km
- Aghmacart Augustinian PrioryAbbey or friary · 2.5 km
- Glashare CastleCastle · 4.3 km
- Rathlogan RingfortRingfort · 4.9 km
Recorded within 5 km
- 34 ringfortsArchaeological Survey of Ireland
- 7 castlesArchaeological Survey of Ireland
- 6 ancient churchesArchaeological Survey of Ireland
- 5 holy wellsArchaeological Survey of Ireland
- 4 abbeys & friariesArchaeological Survey of Ireland
- 2 monastic sitesArchaeological Survey of Ireland
- 1 round towerArchaeological Survey of Ireland
Walks and trails
- Cullahill - Heathy Way Loop WalkWalking Trail · 6.4 km · nearest point 0.1 km
- Cullahill - Binnianea LoopWalking Trail · 9.8 km · nearest point 0.1 km
- Gathabawn LoopWalking Trail · 11.3 km · nearest point 1.9 km
Outdoors, towns and places to stay
- CapponellanForests · 4.1 km
- Dunmore WoodForests · 7.5 km
- Coolacurragh Wood Nature ReserveNature reserves · 5.8 km
- Grantstown Wood and Grantstown Lough Nature ReserveNature reserves · 6.4 km
- Clomanatagh CastleHistoric stays · 10 km
- Roundwood HouseHistoric stays · 24 km
Other attractions nearby
- Gardens at Castle DurrowHistoric Houses and Castle · 5.9 km
- Midland EscapeWalking · 7.6 km
- The Irish Fly Fishing and Game MuseumMuseums and Attraction · 8.8 km
Excavations nearby
- E2186 Parknahown 3, County LaoisRoad-scheme excavation report (TII) · 1.1 km
- E2187 Kilcotton 1, County LaoisRoad-scheme excavation report (TII) · 1.1 km


