Ileigh (sometimes written Ileagh) is in North Tipperary. It is the site of a Catholic church, built in 1826, which is one of the churches in the ecclesiastical parish of

Borrisoleigh and Ileigh Borrisoleigh and Ileigh is an ecclesiastical parish in the Thurles deanery of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly in Ireland. This parish is unusual among Catholic parishes in Ireland in that it is co-extensive with a civil par ...

. An earlier church on the site was dated 1758. The current building is regarded as representative of the modest form of Catholic churches in Ireland before Catholic Emancipation in 1829.Ileigh Roman Catholic Church, Tipperary North
/ref> It is

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

, with four-bay elevations to the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, a single-bay

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

, a single-bay

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

and two-bay

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

s. The pitched roof is covered with artificial slates. The south transept has an

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

belfry with cross finial. The walls are rendered and the openings have pointed-arches with limestone sills and stained glass windows. The doorway is round-arched with a chamfered surround and timber panelled double doors with a date plaque above. The boundary walls are of random stone but the gate piers are of ashlar sandstone, supporting cast-iron gates.

References

{{reflist Religious buildings and structures in County Tipperary