2023:745 - Raymoghy Old Church, Donegal

Monitoring of conservation works took place at Raymoghy Old Church, Raymoghy townland, Manorcunningham, Co. Donegal, between July and October 2023. The works were carried out under Ministerial Consent  No. C001184/Reg. No. E005507 and funded by the Community Monuments Fund (Ref. CMF23-1-DG002), which was administered by Donegal County Council.

The church (DG054-032) is a recorded monument and is located in a graveyard (DG054-032001), a short distance south of the village of Manorcunningham. The surviving remains indicate that the medieval church was significantly altered when converted for protestant worship in the early 17th century. It continued in use until 1792 when a new church was built.

The church, which measured 17.65m long and 6.45m wide internally, is built of rubble with small pinnings and has ashlar quoins. The south-western corner and most of the interior face of the south wall have fallen. The east gable is complete and has a round-headed window  of three lights, which probably dates to the 17th century. The north wall contains the remains of four windows. There is a structural crack in the lintel of the doorway, which is located at the western end of the north wall.  The eastern jamb of the doorway is composed of three chamfered blocks, all of which have characteristic 15th-century punch dressing. The western jamb does not survive. Three medieval window fragments (DG054-032002) are built into the inner quoins of the graveyard gate piers.

Prior to the works the church was heavily overgrown and only short sections of the fabric of both gables and the north wall exterior were visible. The interior of the church was grass-covered and partially overgrown with shrubs and the remains of a number of ash trees cut down in recent years. Rubble collapse, especially along the length of the south wall, was found throughout. One graveslab was visible at the east end of the interior of the church. The graveyard was enclosed by a mortared rubble wall which had collapsed along a number of sections. A roughly rectangular hollow was visible adjacent to the exterior of the west gable. It measured up to 1.2m deep and was the same width as the church.

The works consisted of the removal of overgrowth and the consolidation of the walls of the church and the repair of three collapsed sections of the boundary wall of the graveyard. Disarticulated human and animal bone was found in the collapsed sections of the boundary wall, as well as the partial remains of an articulated human burial (SK1) which was found below the base of the boundary wall. The individual was aged 6-12 years old and was dated to the late 13th century AD. The consolidation of the walls of the church revealed a number of previously known and hitherto unknown features. Four architectural fragments were found during the course of the works. A 1.1m wide doorway with chamfered jambs was uncovered at the western end of the south wall. The remains of four window opes were revealed in the north wall. A lintelled wall press located in the east gable, which had disappeared, was uncovered between the east window and the southern end of the gable. The north wall was found to extend by 0.85m beyond the west gable, suggesting the length of the church had been reduced, probably during the works of the 17th century, A number of disarticulated human and animal bones were recovered during the removal of the collapsed material from the interior of the church, as well as two roof slate fragments with peg holes.