St Brendan of Birr, Aghaviller

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Location
(52°27′52″N, 7°15′54″W)
Site Location
Aghaviller
National Grid Reference
S 50 35
Boundaries
pre-1974 traditional (Republic of Ireland) Kilkenny now Kilkenny
Diocese
Dedication
Type of building/monument
Report authors
  • Rachel Moss
Visit Date
10 Aug 2003

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Feature Sets
Description

Early monastic site with ruined round tower and nave and chancel church. A medieval residential tower was built over the earlier church probably in the 16thc.

History

Little of the history of Aghaviller is known. It was the site of an early Christian monastery, the patron of which was St Brendan of Birr. The death of an abbott, Caroc is recorded there in 896. During the later Middle Ages it became a parish church. The building was fortified, probably in the 16thc., through the superimposition of a tower house on the earlier church building.

Features

Interior Features

Arches

Chancel arch/Apse arches
Comments/Opinions

The bases of the chancel arch are similar in form to loose base fragments at Kilree, also in Co. Kilkenny.

Bibliography

W. Carrigan, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, Vol.4, Dublin, 1905, 1.

 P. Harbison, Guide to the National and Historic Monuments of Ireland, Dublin, 1992, 193.