Coordinates: 52°33′15″N 7°07′06″W / 52.554167°N 7.118333°W / 52.554167; -7.118333

Kilfane Church

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Kilfane Church
Cell-Phaain[1]
Cill Pháin
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value.
Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
LocationKilfane Demesne, Kilfane, County Kilkenny
CountryIreland
DenominationChurch of Ireland
Previous denominationPre-Reformation Catholic
History
FounderCantwell family
Architecture
Functional statusinactive
Heritage designation
Official nameKilfane Church
Reference no.300
StyleLate Gothic
Years built13th century
Specifications
Length22 m (72 ft)
Width7 m (23 ft)
Materialsstone
Administration
DioceseOssory

Kilfane Church is a medieval church and National Monument in County Kilkenny, Ireland.[2]

Location

[edit | edit source]

Kilfane Church is located, in Kilfane, approximately 3.4 km (2.1 mi) north-northeast of Thomastown, County Kilkenny.[3]

History

[edit | edit source]
The Cantwell Fada

The area is supposed to derive its name from a Saint Phian.

The church was built in the 13th century. The Cantwells were Lords of Kilfane and adjoining areas from shortly after the Norman conquest to the confiscations following the Confederation.[4]

Poet Deirdre Brennan wrote a poem about Kilfane Church in 2001.[5]

Church

[edit | edit source]
File:Kilfane Church, 13th Century Door Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.jpg
Ogee doorway

Kilfane Church is a long rectangle with sedilia, altar, book rest and piscina. The sedilia are believed to come from an older church and still have some medieval paint. Three original doorways in the north and south walls are headed by ogee stones.

The castellated tower house at the east end may have housed the presbytery/sacristy and provided residents in the upper storeys.[6]

When the new Church of Ireland building was built across the road, the old church found new use as a schoolhouse.[7]

The main feature is the Cantwell Fada, an effigy of a knight from the 1320s/30s;[8] this would have been intended to lie horizontally as a cover to his tomb, but is now set vertically [9][10] and protected by a transparent cover. When the church was used as a school, misbehaving children were made to kiss the effigy. Later, it had been covered by soil to protect it until 1840, when James Graves uncovered and cleaned it.[7]

Four casts were made;[7] one of them is on display in the National Museum in Dublin.

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).