Less noticed is the fact that a medieval church also sits within the historical record for this townland in County Clare, a quiet monument that tends to be eclipsed by its more theatrical neighbours.

The settlement at Bunratty has considerable age behind it. The name derives from the Irish Bun Ráite, meaning the mouth of the River Ratty, and the area was a significant crossing point and focal location long before the Anglo-Norman tower house that now dominates the skyline was raised in the fifteenth century. Churches in such positions were often early foundations, sometimes pre-Norman, built to serve communities gathered around river crossings, fords, or the boundaries between territories. Whether this particular structure belongs to that early stratum or represents a later medieval parish church is, for now, a question without a fully documented answer.