St Mary's Medieval Parish Church

On the N side of Old Church Street, on a precipitous N-facing slope, with a good view of the town to the N and W. It is aligned E-W and occupies the E end of the graveyard. The medieval parish church of Cahir is described in the Civil Survey of 1654-6 as having 'a house roome on the North of the sd Church' (Simington 1931, vol.1, 359) which was probably a residential building added onto the church proper. The church was in use for Protestant worship until 1820 (Killanin and Duignan 1967, 133). It is a much-modified multiperiod structure. It has a long rectangular plan and is constructed primarily of limestone, though the earlier features are of sandstone. The church appears to be of 13th-century date with later rebuilding in the 15th/16th century. Early features include two sandstone ogee-headed windows in the E gable and the probable remains of the S jamb of a central window. This window was replaced in the 15th/16th century by a mullion and transom four-light limestone window which has three interlace patterns carved on the external side. The earliest doorway appears to be in the S wall. This sandstone, pointed doorway is now blocked up and only visible externally to a height of 0.86m above ground level. The church was later altered and divided to accommodate both Protestant and Catholic worship. Notable features include a bellcote on top of the W gable, a corbel on the S wall with a carved human head and a piscina below. There are a number of loose architectural fragments, both in the church itself and reused as grave-markers in the graveyard.