Kilbarron Church
Photo: NearEMPTiness · CC BY-SA 4.0
Church

Kilbarron Church

Church ruin in Kilbarron, County Donegal.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • 16th centuryIn the record
  • Folklore1 quote
  • PhotoWikimedia Commons
Kilbarron, Co. Donegal54.53364, -8.23111
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Unofficial guide. Not the National Monuments Service, the OPW, Fáilte Ireland or the landowner. Disclaimer

At a glance

  • TypeChurch
  • Date or period mentioned16th century
  • Condition (as surveyed)Ruined

What to look for

  • Graveyard

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
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History and description

Kilbarron Church (DG103-055): The ruins of a simple 15th or 16th century rectangular church, 10.3m by 4.9m internally, are built of squared boulder rubble with ashlar quoins. The E gable is 2.4m high and preserves no evidence of a window.

Full archaeological record 271 words

Kilbarron Church (DG103-055): The ruins of a simple 15th or 16th century rectangular church, 10.3m by 4.9m internally, are built of squared boulder rubble with ashlar quoins. The E gable is 2.4m high and preserves no evidence of a window. The N and S walls stand to a height of c. 3m. About midway along the latter is a pointed doorway; the jambs are rebuilt. The splayed ingoings are lintelled and bond holes remain for a supporting wooden beam; the E ingoing preserves a small socket for a latch. There is a similar doorway with draw-bar socket at the E end of the N wall. The W gable survives to full height; some coping is in situ on the N. The upper section of the gable is lit by a narrow rectangular window with wide splay. The five corresponding joist holes in the N and S walls must have supported a gallery, access to which was probably from the NW corner along the gable. A collapsed altar lies at the foot of the E gable. Spalled masonry on the interior face of the W gable, the adjoining sections of N and S walls, and the SE corner of the church, was caused by fire in these areas. Abutting the N wall of the church are the remains of a structure, c. 8.8m by 5.9m internally, for the most part represented only by lines of stone, now much ruined and overgrown; possibly a priest's residence. The church is surrounded by a featureless disused graveyard (DG103-055001-) which is believed to be the location of an early ecclesiastical site. (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 388)

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated · Updated 22 September 2008. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

The church is surrounded by a featureless disused graveyard (DG103-055001-) which is believed to be the location of an early ecclesiastical site.
As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact

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      • Creevy Coastal WalkWalking Trail · 3.7 km · nearest point 1.6 km
      • Ballyshannon Cycle Hub Loop 2Road Cycling Trail · 35.6 km · nearest point 4.3 km

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