Location: In the village of Ardcrony, N of Nenagh on the N52. The tower is attached to the church.
OS: R 89604 87071
Longitude: -8.1553507
Latitude: 52.934608
Description and History: An early Christian foundation was established here which was later patronised by the O’Hogan family. There is a reference to the site in the 1302 ecclesiastical taxation of the Diocese of Killaloe. It is also mentioned in the Royal Visitation of 1615. The present remains are multi-period with features from the 12th and 16th century. There has also been some recent reconstruction with most of the N wall of the chancel being reconstructed. The nave is roughly 10m x 8m and the chancel is roughly 7m x 8.5m. Springers on the walls indicate the church was once barrel vaulted. After visiting this site I have subsequently found out about many architectural features that I missed here so this site will have to be revisited at some point. When I visited the interior of the church was being used for storage of gardening material for the upkeep of the graveyard. This site is well worth visiting, particularly with the adjoining tower house.
OS: R 89604 87071
Longitude: -8.1553507
Latitude: 52.934608
Description and History: An early Christian foundation was established here which was later patronised by the O’Hogan family. There is a reference to the site in the 1302 ecclesiastical taxation of the Diocese of Killaloe. It is also mentioned in the Royal Visitation of 1615. The present remains are multi-period with features from the 12th and 16th century. There has also been some recent reconstruction with most of the N wall of the chancel being reconstructed. The nave is roughly 10m x 8m and the chancel is roughly 7m x 8.5m. Springers on the walls indicate the church was once barrel vaulted. After visiting this site I have subsequently found out about many architectural features that I missed here so this site will have to be revisited at some point. When I visited the interior of the church was being used for storage of gardening material for the upkeep of the graveyard. This site is well worth visiting, particularly with the adjoining tower house.
The tower house is quite nice. There is a carved human face on one of the corbel supports for a now missing bartizan. The W wall of the tower house has now collapsed but a spiral stairs still survives up the first floor in the NE corner of the tower. A barrel vault survives over the first floor and there is a small room with a barrel vault on the ground floor also. The Civil Survey of 1654-56 describes the castle in ruins. Daniel Hogan (I am assuming he is part of the O’Hogan family who patronised the adjoining church) is listed as the proprietor in 1640. I may have just been seeing shapes in the rocks but I am convinced there is a carved head on the spiral staircase that has been overlooked. It is located just where the stairs end. This is a nice little ruin that is well worth the visit.
Difficulty: The site is in a well kept graveyard so is very easy to get to. Take care if you ascend the steps of the castle. They are small and narrow and not very stable.
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| We visited here late in the day, but the light was beautiful. |
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| The church is in a poor state of preservation. |
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| Surviving chancel arch. |
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| The tower house. |
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| Note the face on the corbel on the right. |
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| Some wicker centring has survived. |
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| I may be imagining it, but I think this may be a very weathered human head. |