The Standing Stone: Kilbride, Church, Co. Offaly.

Original article can be found here.


Location – Along the banks of the canal, W of Tullamore.
OS: N 304 253 (map 48)
Longitude: 7° 32' 36.66" W
Latitude: 53° 16' 39.11" N
GPS: N 30447 25340 (Accuracy – 6m)
See map at the bottom of the page.

Description and History – There is little left of this canal side church but it boasts a long history. A church was originally located here in the 8th century when Irish monks were establishing many communities in the area. The present structure is late medieval and may not have had a long period of usage as the Penal Laws brought an end to Catholic worship here as it did to many other churches throughout Ireland. The present church is badly ruined and measures 16m x 7.5m. The E and W walls survive to full height but the N wall has collapsed in recent years destroying very fine Latin inscribed gravestone underneath it. The graveyard contains some very nice gravestones.

Difficulty – Easy to find on the canal side. Ample parking.

Recently collapsed section of wall.

I think this portion of wall will collapse soon.

There are some lovely late medieval grave stones here.

View The Standing Stone in a larger map