churches historical ireland

St. Selskar's church was founded possibly by the Roche family for the Canons Regular of St. Augustine and dedicated to SS Peter and Paul. The name may be a corruption of the work 'Sepulchre' as tradition says that the church was founded by a lady who thought that her betrothed had been killed on a Crusade to the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and who joined the monastery she had founded.

When her intended returned from the wars alive, he found his bride already a nun, and...

The original church of Portstewart dating from at least the 1300s.

In a field to the East there are the remains of a Stone Age Court Tomb and to the South, a mound marks the spot of the citadel of Congal Clairingneach, King of all Ireland in 161 B.C....

The original monastery situated about 6.5km north-east of Eyrecourt was said to be founded by Saint Brendan the Navigator in 563. It was twice destroyed by the Vikings, and four times by fire, between 844 and 1179.

It became a diocesan see and Augustinian priory in the 12th century. Its doorway, dating from 1160/70, is not withstanding the later limestone attempt at - restoration - a striking example of Irish Romanesque decorative work in sandstone....

A delightful romanesque doorway is the main feature of this small rural church where many of the Butlers of Kilcash are interred....

The modern road cuts through a monastery founded by St Cronan who died between 600 and 620....

Standing in a secluded grove of fir trees by the Glendassan river, 1 km east of the "city" by way of the Green road, the Priory of St. Saviour is said to have been founded in 1162 by St. Laurence O'Toole. The association of the Priory with the saint is borne out by the fact that its location is called Glenlorcan. The Priory has been beautifully restored by the Office of Public Works and is now a much-admired example of Irish-Romanesque architecture....

There is a somewhat doubtful report that the monastery was following the Benedictine rule in the 8th century. The Vikings burned the monastery in 836 and again in 922. Brian Boru is said to have built one of the churches on the island, while his brother, who died in 1009, was Abbot. Around 1043 a monk at Inishcaltra named Anmchad was ordered to leave the monastery because, as Guest-master, he had offered wine to the monastery's guests without the Abbot's permission. He left for Fulda in Germ...

Situated 3 miles south of Eyrecourt, this church is the re-roofed nave of the 17th century Franciscan Friary....

Castle:
The Castle was allegedly built by King John in 1213, but was probably not erected until the middle of the 13th century. An enclosure, reached from the street through a 19th century gateway, was surrounded by a strong wall with one rectangular and two D-shaped towers in it. At one corner is a tall rectangular tower with a fine vault and a fireplace on the second floor. The upper floors have an unusual selection of passages and stairs leading to various defensive positions...

the first church here was founded in 622 by St. Lachtain whose are was preserved in a 12th century shrine now in the National Museum in Dublin. The present church was built in 1730, but in the west gable is preserved a fine 12th century Romanesque doorway taken from an earlier church, the rest of which has now disappeared. The doorway, which is deep and has three orders, is covered by a hood mounding, and on the right and left has some unfortunately weathered figure sculpture. An inscription...