County: Tipperary Site name: GLENBANE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Catryn Power, for the National Parks & Monuments Branch, Office of Public Works
Site type: Ecclesiastical enclosure
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 579654m, N 636448m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.479077, -8.299502
The 1985 season at Glenbane was undertaken to recover skeletal remains exposed during quarrying and to determine if any section of the church had survived at this known burial ground and church site. This church had long gone out of use by the 16th century and historical records of the church do not survive. Part of four levels of burials were rescued (two of the uppermost burials were associated with shroud pins) and at least two other levels of burials ore obvious in the quarry face. One skeleton from the fourth level gave a C14 date of between 1400 and 1450 AD (GrN). One child burial was marked by a setting of stones. Several child burials were disturbed by a ditch-like feature.
Excavation also revealed a small regular setting of stones within a natural hollow and some loose stones which appeared to be a wall collapse. The stone setting corresponds to the position of the church marked on the first edition of the 6" scale Ordnance Survey map.
Though the site was used as a burial ground after the 16th century, it may be earlier in date. The O.S. Name Books (1840) list Glenbane church as Cilt Sinnithe, an anglicised version of Cill tSinche, the church of St. Sineach. St. Sineach may be as early as the 6th century. There are also remains of a roughly circular enclosure visible around the church site.
