St. Patrick's Church, Duleek is a medieval church and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, Ireland. It is believed to have been the first stone church built in Ireland.

Location

St. Patrick's Church is located just north of Church Lane in

Duleek Duleek (; ) is a small town in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Duleek takes its name from the Irish language, Irish words ''daimh'' and ''liag'', meaning house of stones, referring to an early stone-built church, St. Cianán's Churc ...

, northwest of the Nanny River.

History

According to tradition, St Patrick established a bishopric here c. AD 450 and placed it in the care of Saint

Cianán St. Cianán, or Kenan, (died 24 November 489) was a Bishop of Duleek in Ireland. He was descended from the royal blood of the kings of Munster. His feast day is 24 November. Life He was a pupil of the monk Nathan. As a youth, he was one of the ...

in 489. It acquires its name from the Irish ''damhliag'', "stone house," as it is believed to have been the first stone church in Ireland. It is mentioned in the

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...

for AD 724. Other churches were known as '' dairthech'', "

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

house," as they were made of oak wood. Duleek was sacked by Vikings in 830. In 1014 the bodies of

Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...

and his son Murchad mac Briain

lay in state Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a deceased official, such as a head of state, is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in a m ...

at Duleek. The Vikings plundered it again in 1149 and the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

in 1171.

Church

St. Patrick's Church, Duleek is a simple rectangular structure. The northeast wall is partially missing and the southwest wall is completely absent. There is a pointed doorway of undressed stone in the southeast wall. A

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

slab in the wall reads ÓR DO SCANLA_N ("pray for Scanlain").

References

{{Reflist Former churches in County Meath Archaeological sites in County Meath National monuments in County Meath