This will be the first in a series of posts about some of the ecclesiastical ruins in the Kildare and Leighlin Diocese which I hope will be informative and not too boring for you. I run a small website called ‘The Standing Stone’ which deals with places of historical interest in the midland region. I was kindly asked to contribute to this blog with information and history about certain places. I have followed the format that I use on my own site. First, I will give the location of the site with Ordinance Survey co-ordinates. Second, I will give a description of the site along with any history that is known and finally I will mention how difficult it is to visit the site. For my first post I have selected Ardristan Church in county Carlow. It is in a poor state and will give you an indication of the condition of some of our history.
As for myself, I am a biblical historian and run my website purely out of interest in our wonderful heritage in my spare time.
I hope one day we will meet amongst the ruins…
Ardristan Church, Co. Carlow.
Location – On the N81 just S of Tullow. OS: S 842 711 (map 61).
Description and History – This ruined church is in a very poor state in one of the worst kept graveyards that I have visited. This is very unfortunate since some of the graves are still visited and it must be upsetting for the relatives to have to battle the undergrowth to get to the grave of their loved one. I visited this site in November and it was all but impenetrable so in the height of summer it must be a nightmare. The church is in a poor condition but there was probably more to see under the brambles. I couldn’t even get into the church to see. The foundation of West gable is exposed and consists of some massive boulders. The nave and chancel was divided by a pointed arch which collapsed in the 1940’s – luckily the E gable is still standing to a height of about 4m. The church would have been about 17m in length and 7m wide. It is hard to date this church since little is known about it but it clearly medieval and built in the Gothic style.
Difficulty – Easy to find and has a small lay-by for parking. There is a memorial to people who died in the 1798 rebellion there and steps leading to the graveyard. Effort, at some point in time, was put into this site but it has clearly not been kept up which is sad.
This article was originally posted on 'The Standing Stone' and can be found by clicking here.
As for myself, I am a biblical historian and run my website purely out of interest in our wonderful heritage in my spare time.
I hope one day we will meet amongst the ruins…
Ardristan Church, Co. Carlow.
Location – On the N81 just S of Tullow. OS: S 842 711 (map 61).
Description and History – This ruined church is in a very poor state in one of the worst kept graveyards that I have visited. This is very unfortunate since some of the graves are still visited and it must be upsetting for the relatives to have to battle the undergrowth to get to the grave of their loved one. I visited this site in November and it was all but impenetrable so in the height of summer it must be a nightmare. The church is in a poor condition but there was probably more to see under the brambles. I couldn’t even get into the church to see. The foundation of West gable is exposed and consists of some massive boulders. The nave and chancel was divided by a pointed arch which collapsed in the 1940’s – luckily the E gable is still standing to a height of about 4m. The church would have been about 17m in length and 7m wide. It is hard to date this church since little is known about it but it clearly medieval and built in the Gothic style.
Difficulty – Easy to find and has a small lay-by for parking. There is a memorial to people who died in the 1798 rebellion there and steps leading to the graveyard. Effort, at some point in time, was put into this site but it has clearly not been kept up which is sad.
This article was originally posted on 'The Standing Stone' and can be found by clicking here.
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17 comments:
Interesting post. What is the background of the site? Does it have any important historical links?
Good luck with this series! Looking forward to more. Excellent site.
It appears that little is known about the site and I had a hard time finding information about it. One thing I have found out subsequent to writing the post is that people executed in Carlow barracks following the 1798 rebellion are buried here. To me this makes the present condition of the site all the more tragic...
Awesome work here. U sure have done your homework. Nothing more fascinating than the history under ur feet and the stuff that we know is significant but mostly lost.
Interesting sidelight on Ardristan here: http://www.jstor.org/pss/25507591
Can't say that I know if there are any men of '98 buried at Ardristan but we had a commemoration of three local men there a few years back with the Tullow Pikemen in attendance.
Three men from Ardristan, Tom Connors and two brothers called Maher were out in '98 and were commemmorated at the Church.
Who fears to speak of '98?
The Croppy Hole in Graiguecullen contains over four hundred United Irishmen.
Old Leighlin would be a great post
Thank you all for you kind comments about the post and the website.
Someone mentioned that Old Leighlin would be an interesting post. I visited Old Leighlin last weekend along with many other ecclesiastical sites in Carlow so they will appear eventually.
I know that Rosglas is the origin of Monasterevin but is it still visible?
Has Ardristan been included on any heritage preservation list? If not why not? Does the standing stone have a view on this?
I've just been to your other blog and I want to congratulate you. The treatment of subject is professional and clear. This is just the kind of thing that the internet does best. Well done!
As I've said to Brigit about 'Under the Oak' posts, I want to congratulate you on taking the decision to post here. This post and its successors will enrich this blog and I believe that including some of the material from your own excellent blog will place the subject in a contemporary context. My congratulations and good wishes for future additions.
JSB
Welcome to the family! I know you're concentrating on sites in your own area but don't forget there's a whole country out there. See my post on Kilcrea Abbey.
Looking forward to the next post!
MC
Looks like an unspoilt site. Is it just a good camera angle or is this really a site that is not under threat from development?
Do you take a view on the preservation of these sites and their relevance to the modern inhabitants to them? Clearly there is some ambivalence in the modern attitude to them, possibly informed by increased materialism/secularism/distance from a common rural heritage. At the same time, it doesn't appear that the Irish have embraced such sites even after emancipation from penal oppression. In fact, it would appear that there was a flight from associations with oppression from early on in the Roman Catholic revival in 19 cent. Ireland. Any views?
Alice W.
Thank you for all the kind comments and support. I will answer the questions that some asked at the start of the next post.
Not just in terms of Ardristan but the other sites on your blog could you maybe tell us about the difficulties of access. Are these sites generally in OPW care? Is there a sort of archaeological ramblers access?
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