County: Clare Site name: CLONRUSH CHURCH, Meelick
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Caron McCarthy
Site type: Church
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 575955m, N 686837m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.931810, -8.357637
The excavation of Clonrush Church, near Whitegate, is being undertaken in advance of conservation/restoration work, which will be conducted under the supervision of Mr Peter Geraghty, former clerk of Works with the OPW. All that remains of the church is the east gable and the eastern sections of the north and south walls and to uncover the west wall of the church. The project, which is being funded by the East Clare Heritage Society began in November 1990 and will continue in 1991.
The removal of ivy from the interior of the east gable revealed a plain round-headed window dating to the early 13th century. This window was later widened externally to facilitate the insertion of the 16th-century Gothic window, carved in limestone, contrasting with the sandstone gable wall. Evidence for another smaller round-headed window was found in the south wall.
Three trenches have been opened to date in the western part of the church. Trench A investigated the line of the north wall. Trenches B and C concentrated on the west wall of the church. Part of the boundary wall of the graveyard had to be removed to uncover the north-west corner of the church.
A later 17th-century arch feature, known locally as the 'funeral gate' stands adjacent to the south-west corner of the church. It has not yet been determined whether this feature was built against the south wall or built on the foundations of the south-west corner of the church. According to local tradition, all funerals in the graveyard pass through this arch before burial.
Excavation of the site, so far, has not yielded any material of archaeological significance but some objects of interest found in the graveyard include a broken trough/saddle quern(?) which was discovered near the west wall of the church and may have been used for grinding ore. A piece of iron slag was found in the wall of the church and another piece is known to have been taken from the site by a tourist. Two rotary quern fragments were also found near the west wall of the church during grave-digging in 1985. Other discoveries include a finial stone in the form of a Celtic solid-ringed cross and a 19th-century bottle sherd.
1 St Pauls Road, Galway
