churches historical ireland

Labbamolaga is derived form the irish Leaba Molaga, meaning "bed or resting place "of St. Molaga.This is represented by a large slab that is located in the small church. It is said that if someone with rehumatism sleeps under this slap they will be cured.
 
On the site of a monastery founded by St. Molaga who lived in the 7th century, there is a small primitive-looking church with antae and a flat-headed doorway made of 3 stones. near the south wall of the...

In the cemetery is a late medieval church. the round-headed south window may have come from an earlier church on the same site. The trunk of a cross with a coat of arms and an inscription, put up in 1622 in memory of Florence Fitzpatrick and his wife, has been re-erected near the National School nearby....

Donough Cairbreach O'Brien, King of Thomond, founded a friary for the Franciscans here early in the 13th century, but the present church was probably not begun until 1471, only to be burned the following year. After the Suppression in 1541, it was sold to John of Desmond. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's horsemen burned the church once more in 1569, and the friars who had stayed on were massacred in 1570. It suffered little damage when police tried to blow it up in 1921. The church is a simple nave-a...

Pilgrim's Church; at the south-east corner of Gorumna Island is the church referred to as the - Pilgrim's Church - ....

This beautiful building dates back to the seventeenth century but its excellent state of repair is due to the refurbishment carried out by a Rev. Joseph Espine in the 1730's, and later alterations carried out in 1872 when the vicarage was bought back by the Swords Vestry....

This church, a preserved ruin, is on the site of an old monastery founded by St. Comghan towards the end of the 5th century. The present church was built in the 12th century and has one of the finest Romanesque doorways in Ireland....

Once a flourishing medieval town, Clonmines still contains the remains of some of its old buildings. The town was given a charter by William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, early in the 13th century, and the Kavanagh family founded an Abbey here for the Augustinian Eremites which was 'beautified' and enlarged in 1385.

The town was destroyed in 1400, but rose again. Although it scarcely survived the 17th century, it continued to send members to Parliament up till 1800. Nevertheless, as l...

A small treeless island 300 yards offshore from Coliemore harbour, where row-boats may be hired.

The island is uninhabited and its main interest is the early church dedicated to Saint Begnet near the landing place on the west shore. It has prominent antae and a massively lintelled doorway with slightly inclined jambs. The original roof was probably thatch or shingles, but medieval slates discovered in the course of excavation show that the church remained in use for some considerabl...

St. Peter's Church, a splendid edifice in modern Gothic style. As it is set well back from the street alignment, at the top of a double flight of wide steps, an excellent view can be obtained of the imposing front and spire. The exterior walls and dressings, elaborately decorated, are all in local limestone, while the interior walls are of Bath stone with polished granite pillars. Outside the main door, mounted on a modern pedestal and plinth, and now used as a holy water stoup, stands a small...

St. Molua's Oratory: in the grounds of the Catholic church on the hill-top may be found another example of early Irish church building. This is the small oratory of St. Lua or Molua from whom Killaloe got its name. Only the chancel is roofed, with a high pitched roof of stone. Of the nave nothing remains except some walling. The oratory, originally on Friar's Island about 1km downstream from Killaloe, was removed to its present location in 1929, when the raising of the river level thr...