Kilcarragh Church (in ruins), Kilcarragh, Co. Clare

Co. Clare |

Churches & Chapels

Kilcarragh Church (in ruins), Kilcarragh, Co. Clare

About half a kilometre west of Kilfenora in County Clare, a small ruined church sits on a low rise of undulating limestone, and the most striking thing about it may be what it once served.

According to Gwynn and Hadcock's 1970 survey of medieval religious houses, this modest rectangular building may have formed part of a leper hospital, placing it within a category of medieval institution that has left remarkably few physical traces across Ireland. Leprosy was a genuine and feared condition in medieval Europe, and dedicated hospitals, often run by religious orders and positioned at the margins of settlements, were established to house those afflicted. That this building stood just outside a significant ecclesiastical centre like Kilfenora fits the pattern.

What survives today is fragmentary. The church measured roughly 7.9 metres east to west and 4.3 metres north to south internally, making it a small structure even by the standards of rural medieval ecclesiastics. The south wall is the most intact element, standing to around 2.25 metres in height, built of roughly coursed and mortared limestone. The east gable has been reduced to a low, grass-covered mound of rubble, and modern walls now cap both the northern foundations and the west gable, preserving what remains beneath while obscuring the original fabric. A plain recumbent graveslab lies in the interior. Stone foundations projecting from the south-west corner hint that the building was once larger than what stands, and undulations in the field to the west suggest further structures may have existed nearby, now entirely subsumed into the ground.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Kilcarragh Church (in ruins), Kilcarragh, Co. Clare. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement