Doora Church ( ga, Teampull Dúrain), also known as St Brecan, Doora, is a ruined church in the civil parish of

Doora, County Clare Doora ( ga, Dúire) is a village and civil parish in County Clare, Ireland, just to the east of the town of Ennis. Name In Irish the word ''Dúr'' means "water", and ''Dúire'' means "of water", so the name means the parish of the water or bog. ...

, Ireland. It may date back to 500 AD, although it has been extensively reworked since then.

History

The church may have been founded by

Saint Brecan Saint Brecan was an Irish saint active in the 5th century AD. There are legends concerning Brecan from Clare and Aran, and wells and churches are dedicated to him in various places in Ireland. His main monument is the ''Tempull Breccain'' complex ...

around 500 AD. If Brecan was the founder, as tradition states, it would have been one of the first central mission churches in Clare. It is mentioned in 1189. At this time the church, which is near Kilbrecan, was called Durinierekin. Brecan also founded what is now called

Carntemple Carntemple, once known as Kilbrecan, is a ruined church in the civil parish of Doora, County Clare, Ireland. It may date back to 480 AD. Little remains except the massive foundations. Location According to the antiquarian Thomas Johnson W ...

about to the east of Doora Church. An 1842 map notes that the church was in ruins and shows it about southwest of what was then the hamlet of Doora, which lay in the west of the townland of Ballaghboy in the parish of Doora. The church itself lies in the townland of Bunnow. It is about east of the

River Fergus The River Fergus ( ga, An Forghas) is a river within the Shannon River Basin which flows in County Clare, Ireland. The river begins at Lough Fergus in north Clare and flows into the Shannon Estuary. The source is at Lough Fergus in the townland ...

, opposite the town of

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

Description

O'Donovan and Curry 1839

According to

John O'Donovan John O'Donovan may refer to: *John O'Donovan (scholar) (1806–1861), Irish language scholar and place-name expert *John O'Donovan (politician) (1908–1982), Irish TD and Senator *John O'Donovan (police commissioner) (1858–1927), New Zealand pol ...

and

Eugene O'Curry Eugene O'Curry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Comhraí or Eoghan Ó Comhraidhe, 20 November 179430 July 1862) was an Irish philologist and antiquary. Life He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and hi ...

, writing in 1839:

Westropp 1900

Writing in 1900 the antiquarian

Thomas Johnson Westropp Thomas Johnson Westropp (16 August 18609 April 1922) was an Irish antiquarian, folklorist and archaeologist. Career Westropp was born on 16 August 1860 at Attyflin Park, Patrickswell, County Limerick. His relatives were landowners of English ...

described the church as follows:

Recent times

A website maintained by

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

recorded in 2015 that the church had changed little since it was described by Westropp, apart from the fact that the arch stone of the west window of the south wall had fallen to the ground to the south of the church. The sculpture was so badly worn that it could not be dated, but the moldings of the windows seemed to date to the 12th century. The south door had been repaired with a concrete gable.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT: Church ruins in Ireland Churches in County Clare Former churches in the Republic of Ireland