Saint Fechin's Church

In pasture, at the top of a SW-facing slope overlooking the Ballysadare River to the E; in the N side of Kilboglashy graveyard (SL020-109002-). The roofless ruin of a rectangular gable-ended church (int. dims. 19.38m E-W; 7.9m N-S), covered with ivy, built of random-rubble limestone with shaped quoins. The apex of the E gable has collapsed but the base of a central splayed window ope (Wth c. 1.7m) is visible through the ivy (M. B. Timoney 2002, 154-5). According to O'Rorke (1878, 21), 'this window had a mullion, and consisted of two lights'. The W gable and the N wall (H c. 5m) are densely covered with overgrowth. A blocked lintelled window (max. Wth 0.9m) in the centre of the W gable and a recess (0.5m x 0.5m; D 0.5m) at its S end were recorded during a previous site inspection in 1992 (SMR (1989) file). A sketch by Wakeman (1885-6, 49) depicts a blocked-up trabeate doorway in this wall. There is a round-headed window embrasure in the E end of the S wall with a narrow round-headed light, and a similar partially blocked ope at its centre. A Romanesque doorway occurs W of the centre in this wall. The surround has two orders composed of blocks of eroded grainy light red sandstone. Both orders have moulded corners and capitals decorated with animal motifs. Springing from the capitals of the outer order is a semicircular arch with eleven voussoirs, each ornamented with a worn face in bold relief, with a plain chamfered hood-moulding. Two similar heads occur on either side of the doorway. The space under the arch is filled with random dark-red sandstone rubble and the doorway is lintelled (Wth 1.22m; H 1.8m). Internally to the W of it is a series of niches that would have held timbers to support a gallery, lit by a lintelled rectangular light high up near the W end of the S wall. The interior of the church contains many 19th-century headstones and chest-tombs. During a FÁS graveyard clean-up scheme in 1995 and 1996 a number of architectural pieces were found, including a Romanesque font, a stone head and a medieval graveslab (SL020-109010-) (M. B. Timoney 2002, 149-59). The architectural pieces included a Romanesque window hood (in the NMI), a sandstone voussoir, a round window head, a limestone window sill and an ogee window head (ibid., 152-3). The baptismal font consists of half of a hemispherical sandstone block (H 0.22m; diam. 0.6m), which is decorated on the underside with a series of ten leaves; it is in the NMI (ibid.). The sandstone head (H 0.07m; max. T 0.06m; D 0.32m) was found on the ground W of the church; it is also in the NMI. It has indications of a head-dress, the eyes slant downwards with the left eye lower than the right, the mouth is down-turned, the nose is chipped and there are indications of the left ear (ibid.). This church is on the site of an early monastery founded by St Fechin of Billa, and later of Fore, who died in 665 or 668 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 160). An early ecclesiastical enclosure (SL020-109005-) may be preserved in the field boundaries to the S and W of it. It is 13th century or later and incorporates 12th-century features including the doorway and mouldings at the corners (Harbison 1972, 212; M. B. Timoney 2002, 149-50). O'Rorke (1878, 22) noted a number of breaches in the N and S walls which indicate that the church underwent a number of phases of reconstruction. Adjacent rectangular buildings (SL020-109003-, SL020-109004- and SL020-109015-) may be associated with it. An Augustinian abbey (SL020-108----) lies 250m to the W. Two enclosures (SL020-109006- and SL020-109011-) are to the SE and N, respectively.