Location: This church is harder to find and is about 500m away from the main Clonmacnoise site. Follow the pilgrim’s path out of the site and through the modern graveyard and follow the road to the church.
OS: N 01501 30883
Longitude: -7.9782103
Latitude: 53.328421
Description and History: This is the best part of a trip to Clonmacnoise and it is something that most people miss altogether. The first few times I went there I missed it and never knew it was there. It is not well signposted or advertised at the main site. It is on the map you can get from the visitors centre but it is easily missed. The church is in the Romanesque style and had collapsed but the beautiful archway was reconstructed in the 19th century. The building was originally completed in 1167, just two years before the Norman conquest of Ireland. It was built by Dearbhforgaill the wife of Tighearnan O’Rourke the King of Breifne. It is a simple nave and chancel church which measures 13m x 8m and is constructed of limestone. The decorated doorway is made of softer sandstone and is carved in three orders with hood mouldings. The decoration largely consists of foliage and geometric designs. There are also several faces and grotestesque carvings here including an exhibitionist figure that I seem to have missed. A good excuse to go back! Surrounding the church are the wall footings of other buildings, possibly churches and out buildings. This was the church of a larger nunnery.
Difficulty: It’s not hard to get to but does involve walking.
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| These first pictures are from 2010. |
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| The interior of the west door. |
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| The chancel arch. |
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| Grotesques. |
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| The eagle-eyed among you maybe able to spot the exhibitionist figure high up on the outer order of the arch. I need to go back to get a close up pictures. |
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| The rest of the pictures are from 2025. |
