It is an arresting assertion, and the Knights Templar, the medieval military-religious order dissolved by papal decree in 1312, did hold properties across Ireland. But no independent record supports a foundation at this particular site, and scholars of medieval religious houses have found nothing to confirm it. The claim sits there, unverified, attached to a scatter of old stone.

What survives is a rectangular structure measuring roughly 16 metres east to west and just under 7 metres north to south, with the western half largely lost; only the north-west corner still stands to any height. The more rewarding features are concentrated at the eastern end. A window opening near the east end of the south wall retains its embrasure but has lost its light, and beside it, cut into the wall, is a small wall press, a shallow recess used to store liturgical objects or candles. The east gable holds a central window with a segmental arch, a curved arch formed from a single arc, over its embrasure, and above that an unusual stepped head: a flat-topped light with right-angle shoulders rather than the more common rounded or pointed form. The north jamb of this window is gone. The building is thought to be the remains of Templebelagh parish church, which was already recorded as being in ruins by 1615.