Location – The architectural fragments here are scattered over two sites in Johnstown. The first are at the modern Roman Catholic Church dedicated to St. Kieran, while the second are located at St. Mary’s Anglican Church located a short distance away.
St. Kieran’s Church:
OS: S 30093 66569
Longitude: -7.5550286
Latitude: 52.749628
St. Mary’s Church:
OS: S 30181 66355
Longitude: -7.5537368
Latitude: 52.747702
Description and History – These fragments are a real blink and you’ll miss them type situation, but when you take the time to go and look and explore, you’ll find there’s a lot going on here. It’s really worth taking the time to go and find all these bits and pieces, followed by a trip out to Grangefertagh (which I’ve yet to write about!). All of these medieval fragments were taken from the Augustinian Priory from nearby Fertagh (now Grangefertagh). This priory was founded in the 13th century, but largely destroyed by the 15th century, although later repaired. In the early 19th century large parts of the priory were dismantled and some of the windows, a doorway, a font and some sculpture were taken and built into the churches at Johnstown. Based on what has survived through this relocation we can surmise that the priory at Fertagh was quite ornate.
Starting at St. Kieran’s, there is a medieval crucifixion plaque embedded into the north wall of the graveyard. It is quite striking and unusual. Christ is depicted as emaciated, and his body is contorted so he twists to his right. Christ’s nose has been broken off at some point. It has been suggested this was part of a larger memorial dating to the later 16th century. It’s quite an unusual carving and is unnerving in that is conveys the suffering of crucifixion very well.
On the west wall of St. Kieran’s is a large tracery window, also taken from the priory at Fertagh, consisting of two ogee-headed lights with surrounding tracery. Ivy and vine leaves extend from the stops on either side. It has been filled with 19th century stained glass and has been blended into the building extremely well.
Inside the church is located an extremely well preserved medieval font and is certainly one of the more ornate examples I have ever seen. The font has 16 sides, with a different design on each face. I have photographed each face below. There are some floral designs, knot-work, a cross, a human face, and a tracery window, among other designs. It is extremely well preserved, and not being open to the elements will hopefully ensure it remains protected.
Moving on to St. Mary’s these fragments were taken a little earlier than those at St. Kieran’s and were taken in 1799. The west doorway of the church was taken from Fertagh Priory. The doorway has an ornate vine design with birds eating the grapes. On the north tower at the west end of the church, and close to the doorway is part of a carving of a bird, now placed upside down with its head missing. Lastly, the tracery window on the east end of the church was also taken from Fertagh. It’s the largest piece to be taken from Fertagh and has similar vine and ivy leaf design. The tracery is a little unbalanced, as has been noted before, giving the window an unusual appearance, but it is still impressive.
While I always think that architecture should be left at its original location, it is good to see these elements of the former priory of Fertagh still being used for their intended purpose. We will never know for sure, but it is certainly possible that if these fragments were not taken, they may well be lost to us today.
Difficulty – Easy to find and navigate.
Date of Visit – 17th January, 2026.
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