Killevy Churches

Church and cemetery

The ruins of the churches of Killevy (also Killeavy , Irish Cill Shléibhe ) are southwest of Newry in County Armagh in Northern Ireland , on the eastern flank of Mount Slieve Gullion . The name is derived from the Irish Cill Sléibhe Cuilinn (the church of Slieve Gullion).

According to the annals, a wooden church was built here in 450, which was replaced by a stone building in 517 or 518. There are no traces of the first two buildings, instead the stump of a round tower and the ruins of two younger stone churches lie here .

The western one is only about 14 m by 7 m and may have been built in the 9th century. Your lintel is a huge monolith . It was sacked by Vikings in 923 . Augustinian nuns continued monastic life here until 1542.
The eastern, larger one measures around 21 m × 7 m and dates from the 13th century.
Today only the old cemetery is in use.

Allegedly the site is the remnant of a monastery that was founded in the 6th century by St. Moninna, (Monnena), also known as Bline, Darerca or Sharbhile. She is also believed to have founded Faughart Monastery in County Louth . Her alleged grave under a monolith 2.2 m long, 1.57 m wide and 47 cm thick and the nearby St. Bline's Well are places of pilgrimage.

Archaeological sites nearby

one kilometer south are the Cairns (North and South Cairn) of Clonlum also known as the Mystical Ring of Gullion.
Two kilometers south is Killevy Castle
to the west are Clonlum north and south on Slieve Gullion
near Newry are the megalithic sites of Ballykeel and Ballymacdermot
to the north is St. Moninna's Well a sacred spring

Web links

54.136333333333 -6.4079444444444Coordinates: 54 ° 8 ′ 10.8 ″ N , 6 ° 24 ′ 28.6 ″ W.