Kilmacreehy Church
The ruins of the medieval church of Kilmacreehy or Kilmacrehy ( Irish Cill Mhic Creich ) are by the sea near Liscannor in the south of County Clare in Ireland . Tradition tells of a St. Macreehy and there is the late medieval manuscript: "The life of Maccreich", which, however, seems so imprecise and fantastic that it is historically worthless.
It is possible that an early Christian church stood here, but no artifacts have been found. Reports from the 14th century are the oldest evidence. Parts of the masonry could be dated to this period, although the decorations are from a later period. The old masonry can be seen in the lower areas of the walls. In the papal register for the year 1420 Donat Mac Machunna is mentioned as a priest of Kyllmeichchrichenatraga (the suffix - na traga, means: on the beach).
A small vestibule, probably from the 16th century, with a door and a window, protrudes from the south wall and forms the entrance to the nave . Apart from the holy water font next to the door, a window and a destroyed bell room on the west wall, there are few relics in the nave. A high, semi-Gothic arch separates the nave from the long chancel, where an opening in the south wall indicates that it could be a later extension. The niche in the north wall is a grave that copies the similar monument in Kilfenora . It is a rounded double niche with a large diamond-shaped opening in the middle, bounded by a narrow hood, above which a head sculpture emerges from the wall above the keystone. The lower ends of the hood are adorned with other heads of this type. On the opposite side there seems to have been a window that was at least partially rebuilt according to a drawing by Thomas Johnson Westropp . It had two Gothic arches or soft or laced pilasters that extended from the central shaft. A head with the flat medieval headdress emerges from under the top of the hood, which ends in snakes of various styles at the bottom.
Hugh MacCurtain (Aodh Bui Mac Cuirtín - 1680–1755) is buried in an unmarked grave in the cemetery. He was a well-known antiquitarian and writer. The rocks on the coast are called the bed of St. MacCrithes. The saint is buried northwest of the church. Its feast day has been moved to Garland Sunday - the last Sunday in July - to coincide with other local festivals.
literature
- Hugh MacCurtain: A Brief Discourse in Vindication of the Antiquity of Ireland (Dublin: S. Powell at the Sign of th Printing-Press in Copper-Alley; for the author 1717), 4o. Also a genealogy of the Butler Earls of Ormond.
- Paul Gosling: The Burren in Medieval times . In: The Book of the Burren. Kinvara 1991
Coordinates: 52 ° 56 ′ 37.3 " N , 9 ° 22 ′ 31.9" W.