Clonamery

I Location

Site Location
Clonamery
National Grid Reference
19S.66.36
County
Kilkenny
Dedication
not confirmed
Type of building/monument
Church

II General Description

W facade

W facade

Small nave (14.32m x 5.74m) and chancel (6.7 m x 4.39 m) church. The W facade has antae and a flat-headed W doorway with inclined jambs and a cross in relief on the lintel. The chancel was added in the 12thc., and an out-building, possibly the sacristy (2.84 m x 2.38 m), was added later, probably in the 15th-16thc.

III Exterior Features

2. Windows

(i) E window, chancel

E window, exterior

E window, exterior

E window, interior

E window, interior

Round-headed with recessed square moulding on exterior. The interior is splayed.

VII History

The church was an ancient foundation dedicated to St Bronndan. It was recorded as a prebendal church as far back as 1300. According to local tradition the church continued in use as a Catholic chapel up to the defeat of Edward Fitzgerald at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691.

VIII Comments/Opinions

The exterior mouldings of the E window are similar to those at St Mary, Ferns (Wexford). Leask considers the nave to have been originally about 9.14 m in internal length before its extension eastwards.

IX Bibliography

  • W. Carrigan, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, Dublin, 1905, iv.
  • H. S. Crawford, ‘Notes on the church of Cloone or Cloneamery, Co. Kilkenny,’ JRSAI, 55, 1925, 54.
  • H. G. Leask, Irish Churches and Monastic Buildings, I, Dundalk, 1955, 70.
  • J. J. Hughes, 'Clonamery Church', Old Kilkenny Review, 9, 1956-7, 27-31.
  • A. Gwynn, and R. N. Hadcock, Medieval Religious Houses, Ireland, London, 1970, 376.