Ullard Church is a medieval church and
National Monument in
County Kilkenny, Ireland.
Location
Ullard Church is located west of the
River Barrow
The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
and south of
Borris, County Carlow.
History
A monastery was supposedly founded on the site in the 7th century by either Saint
Mo Ling
Saint Mo Ling (614–697), also named Moling Luachra, was the second Bishop of Ferns in Ireland and has been said to be "one of the four great prophets of Erin". He founded a monastery at St Mullin's, County Carlow. His feast day is 17 June.
...
or
Saint Fiacre
Saint Fiacre ( ga, Fiachra, la, Fiacrius) is the name of three different Irish saints, the most famous of which is Saint Fiacre of Breuil (c. AD 600 – 18 August 670), the Catholic priest, abbot, hermit, and gardener of the seventh century ...
. A
high cross was erected in the 9th century.
The stone church was built in the 12th century and the interior was greatly altered during the 16th century, with changes to the
Romanesque doorway, the chancel widened and a stairway built into the wall. Around 1900 a
Gaelic handball alley was built, using the church wall for one of the alley walls. This happened at other sites in southeast Ireland; a high stone wall is needed for the game, and several old castles or churches were used for handball.
Church
Ullard Church is a small
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 ...
-and-
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.
Ov ...
church built of local
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
with a
Romanesque doorway. It originally had three
orders but the inner order has been completely rebuilt. There is a crypt below the altar.
High cross
The cross stands about 4 m (13 ft) tall. It has a closed ring, typical of Barrow Valley crosses. Depicted upon it is the
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...
,
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
with harp and the
Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac ( he, , ), or simply "The Binding" (, ), is a story from Genesis 22 of the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. As Abraham begins to comply, having bound Isa ...
.
Nearby
In the field to the north of the Church are two
bullaun stones nestled beneath a few trees. Further to the north is St Fiacre's
holy well
A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...
. Local people going abroad would bring a bottle of water from the well with them for good luck.
References
Further reading
read online*{{cite journal, last=Hughes, first=Edward, title=Ullard, journal=
Old Kilkenny Review
The Kilkenny Archaeological Society is an archaeological society in County Kilkenny, Ireland.
History
The Kilkenny Archaeological Society was founded in 1946.. An older society with the same name existed,. which developed into the Royal Society ...
, year=1970, location=Kilkenny, pages=58–63
Religion in County Kilkenny
Archaeological sites in County Kilkenny
National Monuments in County Kilkenny
Former churches in the Republic of Ireland