Clare County Library | Clare
History |
Ordnance Survey Letters by John O'Donovan and Eugene Curry, 1839 |
Parish of Killilagh (b) |
In the Townland of Tuamullin [1] in this Parish there is another Church of greater antiquity, measuring in length as it stands at present forty three feet and in breadth seventeen feet six inches. Originally however, it was only thirty three feet four inches in length for there was a small addition nine feet eight inches built out of the west gable. The original west gable contained no feature but a small belfry placed on its top, but after the erection of the small addition or apartment just mentioned a pointed doorway was broken into it close to the south wall. The original part of this Church had two doorways placed opposite each other, one in the north and the other in the south wall at the distance of two feet from the original west gable, but they are now reduced to formless features (breaches). At the distance of five feet from the east gable there is a round headed window at the height of four feet from the ground outside and measuring on the inside six feet by three feet nine inches and on the outside four feet by five and a half inches. The east gable contains a neat window, wide and round on the inside and narrow and pointed on the outside. It measures on the inside seven feet in height and three feet eight inches in width, and on the outside (where it is seven feet from the present level of the ground) four feet in height and seven inches in width. The north wall is featureless. The modern apartment added to the west gable contains three windows, but they are too modern to merit particular description. There is another small Church in the Townland of Oghtdara. In this Parish are three old Castles, one in the Townland of Doonagore which was lately repaired by Counsellor Gore from whose ancestors it is now erroneously supposed to have derived its name. This Castle is mentioned in the List of the Castles of Thomond preserved in Trinity College as belonging to Sir Donnell O’Brien. The second, in the Townland of Dunwicfelim, which is mentioned in the aforesaid List as belonging to Tege Mac Murrogh (O’Brien) and the third in the Townland of Ballynalacken, which is mentioned in the List as belonging to the same Tege. Besides the three Churches and three Castles already mentioned there are in this Parish the ruins of the more ancient dwellings of the Irish, as lioses and cahers. Of these there are several, viz:-
In the Townland of Cahermacrusheen there is a cromlech called by the usual name of Leaba Dhiarmada agus Ghraine. I find no other remain of the olden time in this Parish but the site of a sepulchral monument in the Townland of Laghtmurreda (Margarite’s Monument) to which it has given name. |