The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Leighlin (now)
Cross
Two fragments of a granite, ringed cross found in a field, which Crawford describes as the 'Church Field' (Crawford 1907, 218). There are no building remains.
Cathedral church
St Laserian is one of Ireland’s smallest cathedrals. It comprises a 12thc. nave and chancel, a late 15thc. central tower and a 16thc. N chapel to the chancel. The chancel was rebuilt in the 16thc. A plain 11thc. font is located in the chancel, under the E arch of the tower on the N side.
Church (ruin)
The church is a plain rectangular structure (13.2 m x 7 m). The W gable and S wall have been largely rebuilt. No doors or windows survive.
Church (ruin)
Ruined church of simple rectangular plan, with an internal length of approximately 27.5m. The 12thc building was considerably shorter, since there is evidence to show that the chancel was an addition. According to Comerford, the E end of the building was adapted as the local Protestant church at the beginning of the 18thc., alterations which may have involved the demolition of the Romanesque chancel arch, if such a feature existed. Large sections of the N and S walls are now missing. The E wall, detached from the rest of the ruins, contains a small late Gothic window, comprising a pair of ogee-headed lights. The W wall, which has antae at the angles, contains one of the most delicately worked Romanesque portals in Ireland.
There is historical evidence for a round tower, which was deliberately demolished in 1703. According to Comerford (1882), the 'ornamental stones of the doors and windows' of the tower could still be seen in 'little houses in the neighbourhood'. None of these carvings have been located. Given the ornate treatment of the W doorway, it is likely that the church once had a similarly decorated chancel arch.
Church (ruin)
Small ruined church built of roughly coursed large granite blocks, measuring c. 11 x 5.7 m internally. The W wall and W part of the N wall stand to c. 4 m, while the rest of the N wall, E wall and S wall are c. 1 m high.