2023:899 - Cloonkeenkerrill, Galway

A second phase of conservation works was undertaken at St Kerrill’s Church, Cloonkeenkerrill, Co. Galway, in August-September 2023. The works were funded under the Community Monuments Fund 2023, and follow on from the first phase of conservation works carried out under funding from the Community Monuments Fund 2022, and a Conservation Management Plan compiled under funding from the Community Monuments Fund 2021. According to local tradition Cloonkeenkerrill is the site of an early church founded by St Kerrill aka Caireall mac Curnain, a Christian missionary active in what is now East Galway in the second half of the 5^th century. The early church was later occupied by a medieval parish church, which was converted into a monastery for the Franciscan Third Order c.1435. The upstanding remains at Cloonkeenkerrill comprise the east part of the nave of the medieval/late medieval church, and the south transept which is of late medieval date. The earlier fabric consists of coursed large irregular boulders and roughly-hewn blocks while the later fabric generally consists of smaller roughly-hewn rectangular blocks and slabs. Late medieval architectural features include an impressive three-light tracery window in the south gable of the transept, fragmentary remains of two twin-light ogee-head windows in the east wall of the transept, and another twin-light ogee-head window in the south wall of the nave. The twin-light windows feature decorated hood moulds and spandrels. Of particular note is the small figure of a friar carved into the terminal stone of the hood mould in the south twin-light window. An unusual feature of the church is the finely-carved image of a bishop inserted into the east wall of the nave. An associated plaque bears an inscription to Edmund Kelly (1658-1732) who was appointed to the bishopric in 1718. A finely carved medieval stone head is built into a modern folly known as ‘St Kerrill’s Bed’ which is located adjacent to the graveyard’s west boundary wall.

The first phase of conservation works concentrated on the east wall and south gable of the transept (2022:959). The second phase was concerned with the west wall of the transept and the church nave. The ‘Burke Tomb’ located adjacent to the south wall of the church was also conserved as part of the 2023 programme of works. A further seven architectural stones were recorded, bringing the total number of recorded stones to thirty-four. The newly-recorded stones include two identical finely-carved and moulded stones that likely formed the base of a column in a cloistered arcade, a tantalising hint to what may once have existed at Cloonkeenkerrill. The stones were found behind the head of the twin-light window in the south wall of the church, possibly placed here for safekeeping when the memorial plaque was inserted into this window embrasure in 1732. The other five architectural stones were found sitting on top of walls or lying loose on the ground.