Kilivory Church Ruins
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Three Ancient Glenmore Churches
As our third instalment of Chapter 4, of volume 4 of Fr. Carrigan’s History & Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory (1906) (p. 91-93) three ancient Glenmore Churches will be discussed including; Kilcoan (Weatherstown); Kilbride and Kilmakevoge (also called Kilivory). For all three of these ancient churches Carrigan provided not only the dimensions of the churches, important stones he found in the ruins and nearby Holy Wells. While reading the rest of this fascinating volume in the Mullinavat chapter we came across Big Wood Church which we have also included below because it was supported by nearby Glenmore people.
Kilcoan
“Irish speakers call it Kil-choo-ann, that is, the Church of St. Cuan (pronounced Coo-ann, accent on second syllable). Kilcoan church was a rectangle, 18 feet wide internally, and about 37 feet long, the walls being 2 ½ feet thick. The foundations alone now remain. From the amount of very large rough stones lying on and around the site, it must be concluded that the church was rudely built and was of great antiquity. A graveyard of about two acres is believed to have surrounded it in ancient times; but, at present, all appearances of a burial ground have been obliterated, and the site of the church itself is merely a small patch of unprotected commonage beside the public road. About 150 yards to the south, in the wall of a lane-way, is a great, rugged stone, with a basin-shaped artificial hollow, 12 inches in diameter and 3 inches in depth, cut on the surface” (Carrigan, p. 91).
“St. Cuan’s holy well, called Thubber-chooann, is about a quarter of a mile from the site of the church, in the townland of Flemingstown. Beside it is another holy well, enclosed by a wall and called Thubber-Wizzha (Tobar Muire), or the Blessed Virgin’s Well. Both wells are still frequented for devotional purposes by the people” (Carrigan, p. 91).
Previous to the Reformation the parish and church of Kilcoan belonged to the Priory of Inistioge, as appears from the Red Book of Ossory (Carrigan, p. 91)”
[According to Danny Dowling (1927-2021) the site of this ancient church was in the hamlet of Weathertown in a common at the side of the junction of two lanes. Danny recorded that he spoke with Larry Doyle (c. 1933-2021) of Weathertown regarding some stones Larry uncovered on or near the common in Weatherstown. Larry said that he was working for old “Billy Fitz” (Bill Fitzgerald, c. 1905-1983) of Weatherstown in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. Larry was clearing an area and came across what appeared to be paving stones. From their description and the location Danny concluded that they may have been part of a floor or yard connected to the ancient church of Kilcoan.]
Kilbride
“In Irish, Kyle-vzheedha (Iold Irish Script that looks like, Cill Drugue) or St. Bridget’s Church. The Church was a rectangle, 43 feet long, internally, and 18 ½ feet wide; but the walls, which were 2 feet, 5 inches thick, are now all fallen to a height of one yard from the ground. The entrance door was in the north wall, near the west gable. The graveyard is very large, with portion of a deep fosse at the south-west end. At the east end of the church is an uninscribed head-stone chamfered on both sides, in front, and having carved on it, in relief, an ancient cross patee, [head] inscribed in a circle; it is now deeply sunk in the ground (Carrrigan, p. 91).
“The baptismal font lies in the fosse at the south-west end of the churchyard; it is square on the outside, and quite rough; the basin is 1 foot 7 inches by 1 foot 5 inches; and is 7 inches deep. A holy water stoup, near the west gable of the church, has a round bowl, like a basin, 11 inches in diameter, and 4 ½ inches deep. Another holy water stoup, much resembling this, was taken away out of the churchyard about 1878. A stone, or rather rock, weighing some tons, in the field under the churchyard, has a basin-shaped cavity on the surface, 1 foot in diameter and 6 inches in depth. Besides this rock is a well, supplied with water by a drain from a holy well about 30 or 40 perches distant, called, Thubbervzheedha or St. Bridget’s Well. The drain was made, and the holy well destroyed in the year 1842″ (Carrigan, p. 91).
Kilbride church and parish belonged to the Augustinian Canons of the Congregation of St. Victor, St. Catherine’s Priory, Waterford” (Carrigan, p. 91).
[For further photos of Kilbride ruins and graveyard taken in 2020 click here]
Kilmokevoge
“The church of Kilmokevoge was originally dedicated to St. Mochaevog, or Pulcherius, abbot and patron of Liath-Mochavog, in the Co. Tipperary; but, after the Norman Invasion, it was placed under the patronage of St. James the Apostle (July 25). In Irish it is called Kill—mo-chac-voogue, that is, the Church of St. Mochaemhog or Mochaevog. In English it is often called Kilivory, from a popular notion that mochaemhog means ivory; but this, writes O’Donovan, ‘is truly ridiculous and in every way incorrect’ (O’Donovan’s Ordinance Survey Letters)” (Carrigan, p. 92).
“Kilmokevoge church is rectangular, and, though long a ruin, is still substantially perfect. Internally it measures 42 feet by 18 12 feet. In the west gable, 12 or 14 feet from the ground, are two narrow loops, somewhat damaged and widely apart, each having at top a round arch cut out of a single stone. There is a door in the north side-wall, 3 feet wide below, but all the upper part of the framework is broken away. The wall here 3 feet 2 inches thick. There is a broken window in the same wall, near the east gable, and another window, also ruined, opposite this, in the south side wall. The east window is blocked up by a mural monument of the Stranges of Aylwardstown. There are corbels in the west end for the support of a gallery; and a broken locker in the north side wall, near the east end. Some very large stones may be observed here and there in the walls” (Carrigan, p. 92).
“The church is undoubtedly ancient, but, as its distinguishing features are either entirely destroyed or seriously injured, its age cannot be fixed. Most probably it is older than the middle of the 12th century. In the south east corner beside where the altar stood, rests the Very Rev. Dr. Lower, P.P., on whose monument may be read:
‘Erected by the Revd. Thos. Malley. Doctor of the
Sacred and White Facility of Bordeaux in memory
of the Rev. Stephen Lower, Bachelor of Lovain,
Doctor of Rome, Prothonotary Apostolic, Archdeacon &
Vicar General of Ossory & Parish Priest of Ida,
Who depd. This life the 9th of Janry, 1800, aged 73 years,
Requiescat in pace. Amen.’
Dr. Lower’s grave is hollowed out to a considerable depth by people taking away the clay therefrom, in the firm belief that it possesses virtue to heal their bodily ailments(Carrigan p. 93). Carrigan later in the volume describes Fr. Lower as “one of the grandest characters that figure in the ecclesiastical history of our Diocese. (Carrigan, p. 210).”
“The Strange monument, besides Dr. Lower’s, commemorates Peter Strange of Aylwardstown, who died Dec. 22nd, 1872, aged 67 years; his father Lawrence; his grandfather, Peter, who died at Aylwardstown, Sept. 1824, aged 89 years; and Thomas F. Strange, who was born, May 11th, 1812 and died Feb. 2nd 1897.”
“In the graveyard, at the end of the church, is an altar tomb marking the burial place of the Forrestalls of Rochestown; it has the family arms, and is inscribed to the memory of Mr. Edmund Forrestall, of Rochestown, who died in 1797, aged 45 years” (Carrigan, p. 93).
“A little to the north of the church is St. James holy well, called, in Irish, Thubber San Seeum, or Well of St. James. The church and parish of Kilmokevoge were appropriated by the Nunnery of Kilkilliheen, probably by David fitz Milo, about the year 1240” (Carrigan, p. 93).
[For further information on Fr. Lower, the saviour of Slieverue in 1798, see our post of 11 November 2020.]
[For photos and headstone inscriptions in Kilivory (Kilmakevoge) churchyard click here.]
Bigwood
“The present chapel of Bigwood was built in 1824, by the contributions of the people of the neighbouring townlands in the parishes of Mullinavat, Kilmacow, Slieverue and Glenmore; and to the present day the inhabitants of these same townlands, no matter to which of the four parishes they may belong, look on Bigwood chapel as their own, pay their share of its expenses, and contribute to all parochial collections held here. The old chapel of Bigwood, erected some time after 1787 and discontinued in 1824, stood at the extreme end of the present chapel yard” (Carrigan, p. 179).
[Since Carrigan’s work was published Bigwood has built a newer church in the 1960’s.]
Please send any corrections, further information or photos to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Rev. Stephen Lower (c. 1727-1799): The Saviour of Slieverue & His Grave in Glenmore
Last month Danny Dowling made a point of explaining the importance of the grave of Father Lower in Kilivory graveyard. Danny explained during the 19th century and well into the twentieth century people from all over the country visited the grave of Father Lower believing that the soil had healing powers. In fact, as reported in a 1951 newspaper article written by a clearly sceptical author people were still visiting the grave. Danny Dowling also provided two other important contributions that Father Lower made locally. Father Lower was the first priest to record the baptisms and marriages in the old combined parish of Slieverue and Glenmore. Thus, the early church records, commencing in 1766, that we rely heavily upon today in performing family research is due to the efforts of Father Lower. Father Lower is also credited in 1798 with stopping the burning of Slieverue by British soldiers during the uprising.
Today, the graveyard and ruins of the Kilmakevogue Church are locally known as Kilivory. The church originally was dedicated to St. Mochaevog, an Irish saint, an abbot and patron of Liath Mochevog in Co. Tipperary. After Strongbow’s invasion of Ireland in 1170, the church was placed under the patronage of St. James. In about 1240 Kilmakevogue Parish was one of the parishes that came under the control of the Nunnery of Kilculiheen, of Ferrybank. It is believed that local people began to refer to the area as Kilivory because they thought mochaevog meant ivory in Irish. Irish historian and scholar, John O’Donovan (1806-1861) did not believe that the translation was correct. Interestingly, John O’Donovan was born and raised locally in Atateemore, Slieverue. O’Donovan was the son of Edmund O’Donovan, of Atateemore and Eleanor Hoberlin of Rochestown, Glenmore.
The grave of Father Lower is found in the interior of Kilivory church ruins. Thus we know that by 1800 the church was no longer being used as a church but it was the place where Father Lower chose to be buried. His marker is a large slab that does not lie on the ground. The marker is on several large stones ensuring that the marker is several inches above the grave itself. Although the inscription is faint from exposure to the elements the inscription is still legible and reads as follows:
Erected by the Rev’d Tho Malley Doctor of the Sacred and White Faculty of Bordeaux in memory of the Rev’d Stephen Lower Bachelor of Lovain, Doctor of Rome Prothnotary Apostolic Archdeacon & Vicar General of Ossory & Parish Priest of Ida who dep’t this life the 9th of January 1800 aged 73 years.
Jeroen Nilis, in “Irish Students at Leuven University, 1548-1797,” Archivium Hibernicum (Vol. 60 (2006/2007), pp. 1-304, p. 212) listed in entry 831, dated 1750, Lower, Stephanus. “Born of Protestant parents and brought up in that religion until he reached his twenty-third year; then, moved by divine grace, he left his parents and his native land and went to Flanders with the intention of becoming a Catholic; this he did, having renounced the Protestant religion before Abp. Crivelli who preceded Molianari as nuncio.” It is noted that for nearly 30 years Father Lower was the parish priest of Slieverue and Glenmore parish.
On Friday the 20th of July 1951 the following article appeared in the New Ross Standard. Corrections and translations not part of the original newspaper article are in square brackets [ ].
CUSTOM AS REGARDS PRIESTS GRAVE—There is a peculiar custom in one of the old parochial districts, comprising the once united parishes of Glenmore and Slieverue, that, in the old churchyard of Kilmakevogue, people, for many generations, are in the habit of taking away the clay that covers the last resting place of a priest. The writer understands that the custom still prevails and, on questioning an inhabitant of the district that, if this custom continued for so many generations, the coffin of the dead priest must have long ago been exposed. He was informed that this was not so, and that everyone who took away soil replaced it with other clay; so that the grave remains in its way as it originally stood.
Parish Priest of Ida—To ascertain the authenticity of this story, the writer had access to the diocesan history of Ossory, published by the able archaeologist, the Very Rev. Canon Carrigan. He gives a description of the old church of Kilmakevogue and its surrounding graveyard. He states that in the south-east corner, opposite where the altar stood, rests the Very Rev. Dr. Lower, P.P., and that his “grave is hollowed out to a considerable extent by people taking away the clay therefrom in the belief that it possesses virtue to heal their bodily ailments.” This Fr. Lower was the Vicar-General of Ossory in his time, and is described as the ” parish priest of Ida.” In fact, he was pastor of the united parishes of Slieverue and Glenmore, which were divided into separate parochial districts in 1846. He died in the year 1800, aged 73, and as recorded by Father Carrigan, was buried in Kilmakevogue.
Reared a Protestant—Became a Priest—According to Very Rev. E. O’Farrell, P.P., who wrote a paper on the parish of Ida, which appeared in Transactions of the Ossory Archaeological Society, Father Stephen Lower, D.D., was born in the parish of Glenmore, at a place called Trinaree. He goes on to say: His father was commonly called Shaun Lower. It is said of him that he was an expert ploughman, and a great whistler. [Trinaree is in Slieverue parish] He was landlord of Trinaree, where he lived, and of the adjoining townland of Ballarourach. He was, however, a Protestant, and from this fact the lane leading from the high road to where he lived is, up to this day called Boreen-a-Sassanach [translated the English lane]. Dr. Lower was consequently reared a Protestant. In his youth he was taken from his native place, sent to the Continent, and placed in a Protestant College for his education. Young Lower soon began to feel scrupulous with regard to the religious tenets inculcated by the Superior of the establishment, and becoming more uneasy every day, determined to make his escape, and did so after a short time. He made his way to Rome, renounced Protestantism, studied for the priesthood, and in due time became a priest. Having been ordained, he came back to his native country.
Canon Carrigan, who describes Fr. Lower, as one of the grandest characters that figured in the ecclesiastical history of the diocese of Ossory, says his fathers’ name was not Shaun but Richard. He also mentions that Fr. Lower took out the Degree of Doctor of Divinity in Louvain. On May 4th, 1764, he was appointed P.P. of the newly-formed parish of Rosconnell or Ballyouskill, and was translated from thence to Slieverue and Glenmore on November 16th, 1766. He became Vicar- General of the diocese in December, 1773; Canon of Blackrath. January 5th, 1775. and Archdeacon of Ossory, June 14th, 1778, and died on Jan. 9th, 1800.
‘98 incident—Here is an incident recorded of Fr. Lower, quoted by Fr. Carrigan, from the Transactions of the Ossory Archaeological Society— ” During his missionary career he lived in the village of Slieverue. In the troubled times of 1798, it is said that a party of cavalry passing through, were, in their wantonness, about to set fire to the place, having, it is well known, liberty at that time, without the least hindrance, to destroy property of every description, and even to take away life. History relates that the cruel Attila surnamed ‘the Scourge of God,’ when proceeding to sack Rome, was met by the holy Pontiff, Leo the Great, and was persuaded by him to relinquish his impious designs on the city. The barbarian was so terrified by the holy Pontiff, that he commanded his soldiers to cease hostilities, and thus Rome was saved. In like manner, Father Lower boldly approached the ruthless officer of those ruffians, took his horse by the bridle, and led him and party to a considerable distance from the place. Whether, as Attila was frightened into compliance by seeing two venerable personages guarding the person of St. Leo this wicked officer was deterred from resisting the good priest by seeing some similar vision we know not. Certain it is that he allowed himself and party to he led away from the place, and saved the little village from conflagration and the inhabitants, from insult, if not massacre.
Although local tradition makes no comparison to St. Leo, the Great, the memory of Father Lower and his intervention in 1798 at Slieverue is still remembered today among older Glenmore residents.
UPDATE–two death notices were published in December 1799 indicating that Rev. Stephen Lower died a year earlier than the date recorded on his flat grave marker.
In Saunder’s News-Letter on Thursday the 12th of December 1799, the following death notice appeared on page 2. “Died–On Monday last, in the 74th year of his age, the Rev. Stephen Lower, D.D. Titular Vicar General of the Diocese of Ossory, and for nearly thirty years P.P. of Ida, in the county Kilkenny.”
A slightly longer death notice appears in Finns Leinster Journal on Saturday the 14th of December 1799:
“Died. Friday evening in the 74th year of his age, the Rev. Stephen Lower, D.D. titular vicar general of the Diocese of Ossory, and for nearly thirty years P.P. of Ida, in the county of Kilkenny. He was deservedly beloved by his relatives and parishioners, and universally esteemed for the innocent and probity of his life.”
For a brief history of the current parish church of Glenmore, St. James, see, https://glenmore-history.com/st-james-catholic-church-of-glenmore/ .
The featured painting is a fresco painted by Rapheal of Pope Leo the Great (c. 400-461) meeting Attila the Hun in 452. Leo persuaded Atilia not to sack Rome. The Feast day for St. Leo, the Great, is 10 November. The fresco is available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leoattila-Raphael.jpg .
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh