Kilcolumb Church Ruins
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More Ancient Glenmore Churches
Today, as our fifth excerpt from Carrigan’s, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, v. 4 p. 95-98 (1906) we feature more of the ancient churches found in Glenmore or nearby including: Kilcolumb, Rochestown, Rathaglish (Slieverue) and Davidstown. More is known about Kilcolumb because it continued to be used as a church until about 1830. Kilcolumb was in ruins by the time Canon Carrigan visited it at the turn of the 20th century and the ruins and graveyard still remain today.
Kilcolumb
“Part of the [civil] parish of Kilcolumb belongs to Slieverue, the remainder to Glenmore. In Irish, Kilcolumb is call Kill-Chullm, which means the church of St. Colum. As many saints bearing the name of Colum are commemorated in the Irish Martyrologies, it is impossible to determine which of them gave name to the Kilcolumb of which there is question here.”
“Some centuries ago, probably soon after the Norman Invasion, Kilcolumb church was withdrawn from the patronage of St. Columb and was dedicated, or rededicated, under the title of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. September 14th, the feast day of the Exaltation of the Hoy Cross, is now the patron day of Kilcolumb parish.” See our post of 29 August 2022 for a link to the 1991 video of Danny Dowling (1927-2021) discussing Kilcolumb.
The Ruins in 1900
“The church of Kilcolumb is a rectangle, 51 feet long, internally. The north side wall and the east and west gables are badly built and are, certainly, no older than the 17th century. The south side wall is very ancient. It is 3 feet 2 inches in thickness, at the ground, and batters, on the outside, to a height of 5 or 6 feet; it has a door and two windows, all modern, and evidently, of same date as the later portion of the church. Protestant service was held here down to about 1830, when the one solitary individual who formed the congregation having become Catholic, the church was closed for good.”
Kilcolumb Graveyard
“In the graveyard [that surround the ruins] is a headstone inscribed:
‘Erected by Eleanor Archdecan alias Greace, in memory of her uncle-in-law, the Revd. Father Richd. Archdecan, who depd. this life, Octbr. ye 26th, 1775 aged 76 yrs.; also his father, mother, and sisters. Requiescant in Pace. Amen.'
The Shees or O’Sheas, of Nicholastown [Slieverue], a respectableold family, have their tomb here at the eat end of the church.
The Headache Stone and Well
“Fifty yards north of the churchyard is a rude rock, 4 feet long, 2 feet wide and the same in thickness, and know as Cluch-Chullm, or St. Colum’s Stone. On its smooth upper surface there are, in a line, one after the other, three bowl shaped artificial hollows, of which that to the north 1 foot in diameter and 6 inches deep, and has a small aperture in the bottom communicating with the outer surface of the stone; the middle cavity is 1 foot in diameter and 7 inches deep; the third is 1 foot in diameter and 5 inches deep.”
“The stone is held in great veneration by the people, who come here to pray when affected with headache, and expect relief through St. Colum’s intercession. Kilcolumb holy well is about 100 yards east of the church. It is called Thubber na gcullm, which the people say means well of the pigeons or doves.”
“In pre-Reformation times, the church of Kilcolumb, like that of Kilbride, belonged to the Augustinian Canons of the Congregation of St. Victor, St. Catherine’s Priory, Waterford.”
Editor’s note
Saint Columbcill’s stone is in the field west of the Kilcolumb church ruins in the townland of Rathinure. The stone has three large hallowed out bowls and originally had two small holes in one side of the stone. It is believed that this stone was the holy water font of the church and it was removed from the church during penal times and dumped in the field where it has remained.
Local lore has it that any person who can place his head in the centre “bowl” at the same time placing one knee in each of the other two “bowls” will never suffer from headaches. This was a common cure for headaches in the old days. Tom Walsh (1908-1992) related that one of the small “holes” where a thumb was able to fit in, by persons desiring to rid themselves of headaches, was knocked off by the swing of the plough striking against it. It appears that the man was ploughing the field and kept so near the stone that the damage was caused. He was dead before the next morning.
Kilcolumb Church ruins are located in the townland of Rathinure, Glenmore. For more information on Rathinure see our post of 29 October 2023.
Rochestown Church
“Rochestown, in Irish Bollanróshtla, is divided into Rochestown West or Bollialogue, and Rochestown East or Bollianakilla. The cill or church, from which Bollianakilla has its name, stood at the Gorry-vceldhuv, in the field opposite the entrance gate of Mount Ida House. Not the slightest trace of it remains, but a standing stone, lately set up, marks the exact spot on which it stood. Tradition states that the timber of the roof of this church was taken down and afterwards made use of at Kilcolumb, when the later church was being rebuilt for Protestant service.”
“According to O’Donovan, the name of Rochestown church was Thompel Feenan, or the church of St. Finian (of Clonard); the name, as given on the spot, to the present writer [Carrigan] was Thomple na groo-in-eeny.” See our post of 3 December 2023 for more information on Rochestown, Glenmore.
Rathaglish [Slieverue] Church
“In Irish the townland of Rathaglish is called Rahglish, the Rath of the Church (Ecclesia). Evidently an ancient church stood within or beside the rath from which the townland is named.”
Davidstown Church
[Another ancient church that has been obliterated from the landscape was “Kilcliggin, the Church of the Skulls, which stood near the village of Davidstown” [Glenmore]. “An old laneway that formerly led to it is still called Bosheen a thomple, the Church Bosheen” [church lane]. See our post of 28 December 2022 for more information on the townland of Davidstown.
The Cunnia-vwee
“The small field called ‘the Cunnia-vwee’ is situated on Davidstown hill, on the bounds of the townland of Attateemore [Slieverue]. There is nothing remarkable in it, at present, but two small cairns, or heaps of stones, one about the centre of the field, the other close to the fence, at the north side.”
“The former merely consists of loose stones thrown carelessly together. The later is of the same description, and measures 6 or 8 feet across; in its upper surface are embedded two large, rough blocks of stone, one having an artificial bowl 1 foot in diameter and 1 foot deep; the other having a similar bowl 1 foot in diameter and 4 or 5 inches deep. The deeper bowl always contains some water and is known as Thubber Phaudhring, or St. Patrick’s Well.”
The curious legend connected with this place is known over the whole Barony of Ida. In our next instalment of Carrigan we shall explore Canon Carrigan’s treatment of O’Donovan’s earlier work and the curious legend.
Please send any corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Rathinure, Glenmore (1961)
Today, we are going to feature information Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of Rathinure in 1961. Similar to other townlands in Glenmore, Rathinure has been spelled in different ways across the centuries. It was spelled Rathnewre on Sir William Petty’s, Down Survey Map (1656-1658); it was spelled Rathaure in the Tithe Applotment Books (1829); and a popular spelling in late 19th century newspapers was Rathenure.
Background
The Irish for this townland, according to O’Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny Ireland (1969, p. 114) is Ráth an iubhair, or rath of the yew. The townland of Rathinure is comprised of 575 acres. O’Kelly listed the ancient Kilcolumb church site, Tobar na gcolm (according to Danny the well of the doves), and Cloch Choilm (the Kilcolumb holy water font that was tossed into a field by Cromwellians and is locally known as the headache stone). O’Kelly wrongly noted that the Bóithrin fada “is the by-road running southward from the main road to a number of houses.” The Bóithrin fada is a narrow unpaved farming lane that runs west from the High Road to the old hamlet of Rathinure coming down behinnd Johnny Garvey’s house.
O’Kelly lists a number of fields with Irish names including: Bán riach; Garaí; Cabúis; Cabus’s garden; Garaí glas; Gort ne sidheog or the fairies field a tradition of losing one’s way at night here; the Móineáns; Ocht na grainsí or hill breast of the grange; Sceathánach, sceach lland; Sean-bheitin; Sileáns or rivuets or drains; and Srath lia mhór, or field of the big grey fern. For further Rathinure families and field names see “The Enduring Names of Rathinure”.
Tithe Applotment Books (1829)
Rathanure was owned by S.W. Aylward who split his holding into Rathanure (566 statute acres) and the Hill of Rathanure (29 statute acres).
There were two tenants for the Hill of Rathanure (29 acres) namely, Philip and John Wallice (sic). There were 18 tenants listed for the 566 acres of Rathanure including: [1] James Wall; [2] William Roach; [3] Patt Kennedy [4] Patt Kennedy; [5] William Kennedy; [6] James Kennedy; [7] Michael Kennedy; [8] John Kennedy [9] John Malone; [10] Patt Eade; [11] Edward Murphy; [12] James Murphy; [13] Patt Murphy; [14] James Deighan; [15] Thomas Sullivan; [16] John Roach; [17] Jno Roach; [18] William Roach.
Griffith’s Valuation (1847-1864)
The immediate lessor (landlord) was James C. Aylward, Esq. Tenants included:
[1] Thomas Wall who had 32 acres, a house & offices;
[2] John Freeman who had a house and garden;
[3] John Roche, 46 acres, house and offices;
[4] Margaret Kennedy, 32 acres, house & offices;
[5] Richard Kennedy, 50 acres, house and offices;
[6] Peter Kennedy, 52 acres, house & offices;
[7] John Kennedy (the wall) had no landlord the word “free” appears in the record for immediate lessor. John the Wall Kennedy owned a house worth 10 shillings;
[8] Patrick Kehoe, 44 acres, house & offices;
[9] Thomas Delahunty had a house he leased from Patrick Kehoe worth 10 shillings;
[10] John Kennedy (Khosub), 41 acres, house & offices;
[11] John Malone, 33 acres, house & offices;
[12] John Kennedy (Ogue), 30 acres, house & offices;
[13] Richard Kennedy, jun. leased a house from John Kennedy (Ogue) worth 6 shillings;
[14] Patrick Geehan, 29 acres, house & offices;
[15] William Kennedy, 30 acres, house and offices;
[16] Mary Den leased a house valued at 5 shillings from William Kennedy;
[17] Jeremiah Greene leased a house (value 9s.) and garden (value 3s.) from William Kennedy;
[18] Edmund Murphy 46 acres, house & offices;
[19]Anastatia Kelly leased a house (valued 5 s.) from William Kennedy;
[20] Oliver Neill leased a house and small garden (valued at 8s.) from Edmond Murphy;
[21] Philip Wallace, had a house (valued at £1) and his immediate lessor were “Tenants of the Townland.” [22] Tenants of the Townland held 1.6 acres of land in 3 parcels of commons valued at £2.15.;
[23] John Murphy, 25 acres, house and offices;
[24] Ellen Murphy had a house and garden (valued at 12s.);
[25] John Kehoe and
[26] Lawrence Sullivan together leased 1 acre of land; houses & offices from James C. Aylward;
[27] John Roche (Luke),
[28] John Roche (Anne) and
[29] Bridget Roche, the three Roches [27, 28 & 29] shared 72 acres. They had houses and offices valued at respectively £3.10; £4.5 & £2.15.
1961 Rathinure, Glenmore
In 1961, Danny recorded 14 families or households in the townland of Rathinure. Birthdates or birth years are provided for some of the older residents gleaned from available public records. For some time after drafting his notebook, Danny recorded the dates of death or simply recorded that a resident had died or left the townland.
Danny’s recorded information reveals that in 1961, 52 people resided in the townland of Rathinure with the population comprised of 29 males and 23 females. The largest households was the Maguire family with 8 persons in their household. There were 4 households recorded with a single person living alone in each house. Information under residents of Rathinure not in Danny’s original list has been placed in square brackets [ ].
Recorded Rathinure, Glenmore Residents (1961)
Males= 29
Females= 23
Eldest Recorded Resident
The eldest resident recorded by Danny in Rathinure, Glenmore was Peter Kennedy (5 Nov. 1878-17 March 1962) who was 83 in 1961. Peter Kennedy was the son of Thomas Kennedy and his wife, Anastatia Irish, of Aylwardstown. Peter only had one sibling Bridget who married Peter Foskin of Big Wood, Mullinavat. Peter Kennedy married Elizabeth Walsh (c. 1884 – 1958) of Powerswood, Thomastown. The couple were married on 8 February 1921 at Thomastown. Elizabeth pre-deceased him Peter. Peter Kennedy and his wife had five daughters and the youngest Cissy Kennedy will be 94 on the 5th of January 2024.
Recorded Work
Farmers= 8 (7 Males; 1 Female)
Retired Farmer= 1 (1 Male)
Farm Workers = 11 (11 Males)
Council Worker= 1 (1 Male)
Builder’s Labourer= 1 (1 Male)
Odd Jobs = 1 (1 Female)
Rathinure, Glenmore Residents 1961
[1] KAVANAGH
Kavanagh, Annie (b. 5 May 1901)
[2] ROCHE
Roche, Mary (b. 1918) [née Forristal of the Mill was the widow of Edward “Ned” Roche of the High Road, Rathinure who died 15 August 1957 aged 75. Mary died on 26 January 1984 aged 87].
[3] GRACE
Grace, John (7 Sept. 1893-22 June 1964) Farmer
Grace, Bridget (b. 12 Dec. 1899) wife
Grace, Patrick , son, assisting on farm
Grace, Ellen, daughter-in-law
[4] ROCHE
Roche, Catherine “Katie” (b. 1 Jan. 1912) Farmer [died 9 August 1967, aged 56]
Roche, Mary “May” (b. 4 Aug. 1916) sister [May Roche died 28 September 2001].
Delahunty, Michael (b. 20 Dec. 1906) farm labourer
[5] ROCHE
Roche, John (b. 11 Oct. 1911) Farmer
Roche, Margaret (b. 1917) wife
Roche Michael, son
Nolan, Nicholas, nephew, assisting on farm [died 22 Sept. 2013, aged 69, of Garryduff, Piltown]
[6] KENNEDY
Kennedy, John (10 Feb. 1885-11 Feb. 1962) Farmer [John Sean Og Kennedy]
Kennedy, Mary (b. 13 April 1881) sister [Mary Sean Og Kennedy died 8 February 1971]
Garvey, John, grand-nephew, assisting on farm
For more information on the Sean Og Kennedy’s of Rathinure see our post of 3 October 2021.
[7] KEHOE
Kehoe, Richard [19 July 1914—15 Dec. 1974] Farmer
[Dick Kehoe married Mary Doherty, of Ballinlammy in the late 1960’s. Mary Kehoe née Doherty died 7 December 2016 at the age of 94.]
[8] WALSH
Walsh, Thomas (b. 27 May 1908) Farmer [died 2 April 1992]
Walsh, Stacia (b. 31 March 1922) wife [died 12 Nov. 1984]
Walsh, Robert, son [4 May 1950-14 Aug. 1984]
Walsh, Peter, son
Walsh, Elizabeth “Elsie”, daughter
Kennedy, Peter (5 Nov. 1878-17 March 1962) father-in-law, retired farmer
[9] FITZGERALD
Fitzgerald, Anastasia (b. 14 Feb. 1900) [née Sullivan]
Fitzgerald, Stephen, son, farm labourer [died 8 July 1999, aged 76]
Fitzgerald, Patrick, son, farm labourer [died 28 Oct. 1981, aged 55]
Fitzgerald, John, son, farm labourer
Fitzgerald, Bridget, daughter [died 22 May 1994, aged 66]
[10] DALTON
Dalton, Johanna “Josie” (b. 31 Dec. 1907) odd jobs [died Dec. 1978]
[Josie Dalton’s grandfather, R.I.C. Hearn, arrested Roger Casement in Kerry c. 1914. Danny Dowling said her father was a cobbler from Tullogher and moved to the Railway Cottage in Rathinure. Josie had two sisters and a brother Pat. All her siblings went to England and Josie lived in the isolated Railway Cottage until shortly before she died. Josie broke her leg and was found by a neighbour and taken to the hospital. She lived in a small mobile home where Willie Cummins had lived. Although Josie told friends she was going to return to the Railway House she died at the mobile home.]
[11] KENNEDY
Kennedy, Thomas (b. 26 Aug. 1912) Farmer [died 9 Jan. 1987]
Kennedy, Laurence (b. 12 Aug. 1914) brother, assisting on farm
Kennedy, Richard (b. 5 Oct. 1917) brother, assisting on farm [died 10 Jan. 1994]
Kennedy, Patrick (b. 14 March 1921) brother, assisting on farm [died 19 May 1997]
Kennedy, Bridget (b. 1922) sister
[12] ROCHE
Roche, Edward (b. 4 Nov. 1887) Farmer [died 14 Jan. 1969, aged 81]
Roche, Alice (b. 22 Dec. 1886) [née Heffernan of Aylwardstown died 28 Nov. 1972, aged 86]
Roche, James [2 Nov. 1928-13 Dec. 2018 aged 91]
Roche, Alice “Ciss” (b. 1930) daughter-in-law [née Culleton of Kilbride]
Roche, Eddie, grandson
Roche, Michael, grandson
Roche, Alice, granddaughter
[13] WALSH
Walsh, John “Jack” (b. 5 Feb. 1893) Farm Labourer
Walsh, Anastatia (b. 14 March 1899) wife
Gahan, Michael (b. 10 Feb. 1911) brother-in-law, Council Worker
[14] MAGUIRE
Maguire, John, Builder’s Labourer
Maguire, Catherine, wife
Maguire, James, son
Maguire, Catherine M., daughter
Maguire, Margaret M., daughter
Maguire, Thomas J., son
Maguire, Mary, daughter
Maguire, Anastatia, daughter
(Family moved to Ballinlaw, Slieverue).
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Please send any corrections, further information or photos to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
The featured photo above is Kilcolumb ruins and churchyard. See our post of 22 December 2019 concerning what happened to persons who abused or damaged Cloch Choilm (the Kilcolumb stone for curing headaches).
For a link to a recording of Danny Dowling in 1991 speaking on Kilcolumb click here.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Danny Dowling: 1991 Kilcolumb Church Ruins
Last month I was able to go home and had a couple of old VHS tapes digitalized. One tape contained video from a 1991 trip to Glenmore when I met Danny Dowling (1927-2021). It also contained footage of Danny giving a little tour of the ruins of Kilcolumb Church, the oldest Kennedy headstone in the parish, and the famous “headache stone.” Danny also provided a brief history of Kilcolumb Church and its patron Saint. Also featured in the video is my future husband’s father, Tom Walsh (1908-1992) a native of Davidstown, Glenmore and late of Rathinure, Glenmore and my future sister-in-law Elsie Walsh.
This is our first you tube video, so fingers crossed, click here.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh