churches historical mayo

A small 12th century church which consisted of a nave and chancel. Only the foundations of the nave remain, but the chancel is better preserved and contains a rounded east window which splays inwards. It is picturesquely situated beside lake Ballymore....

The founder of the first monastery here was St. Senach who was created Bishop of Aghagower by St. Patrick. The Round Tower, which is preserved up to the fourth floor, has a round-headed doorway. The present ground-floor entrance is modern, and the roof is said to have been struck by lighting. The nearby church was built in the 15th century, but with fragments of an earlier church....

An Abbey or Priory of the Carmelites was founded here in 1298 probably by Adam de Staunton of Castlecarra. It is the lower down of two churches in the field and has some 13th century niches, though much of the church was rebuilt in the 15th century when the present windows were inserted and the domestic buildings added. It became Augustinian in 1413 and was burned in 1430. further up the field, in the graveyard, is a 14th century parish church with the lower part of the walls sloping outwards...

On one side of the river is a 13th century church incorporating a square belfry at the western end. The remains of three lancet windows can be seen in the east wall. On the other side of the river is a castle which is not in the best of condition but has two corner fireplaces and tall profiled chimney stacks. The castle was built in the 16th century by the Burkes; in 1574 it was in the possession of MacWilliam Eighter' (Sir John fitz Oliver Burke)....

A well-preserved round Tower which is lower and fatter than most examples. It had a round-headed doorway (now blocked up), and flat - and gable-headed windows. The church beside it, although built in the 18th century, incorporates a 16th century mullioned window and a small plaque with the Crucifixion dated 1625. The first church here was founded by St. Patrick and, because of this, the Archbishops of Armagh long claimed jurisdiction over it. But in 1351 the Pope authorised the Archbishop of...