Medieval Laois: Killeshin, Timahoe, Carlow Castle & Dunamase

Killeshin Church
Timahoe Round Tower
Carlow Castle
Dunamase

Romanesque Laois

Killeshin Church

The church at Killeshin is largely twelfth century in date, although some parts show evidence of later rebuilding, including a late Gothic east window. Probably the portal and north window belong to c.1150, and post-date Diarmait Mac Murchada's blinding and killing of 17 Leinster nobles, including three of the local Uí Barraiche dynasty, in whose locality the church stood. Both Professor Roger Stalley (Trinity College Dublin) and Dr Tadhg O'Keeffe (University College Dublin) have described the church as 'typical' of twelfth-century Irish architecture. Stalley points out that 'The fact that the portal embodies many of the typical characteristics of Hiberno-Romanesque means that its design is fundamental to arguments about the development of the style as a whole.' (Stalley, 1999, p.89). Indeed, the importance and beauty of the church are equally evident.

The monastery of Glenn Uisin was founded by Diarmait mac Siabairr, a saint of the local Uí Barraiche family, and in the eleventh century the monastery suffered from its close secular contacts, as the Annals of Tigernach record in 1041 that Glend Uisin do argain do mac Mail na mbó 7 an durteach do brisedh 7 cét do dainib do marbad and, 7 secht cét do breth ass .i. a ndighail Ferna Moire do loscadh do mac Briain 7 do Murchadh mac Dunlaing 7 a ndighail a brathar .i. Domnall Remar, which may be translated as 'Killeshin despoiled by the son of Mael na mBó, the oratory/wooden church was broken, and a hundred people killed, and seven hundred carried off, that is, in revenge for the burning of Ferns by the son of Brian and Murchad mac Dunlainge, and in revenge for his brother, Domnall the Fat'. However, it seems that by the time of the Romanesque portal, ties with the Uí Barraiche had been severed almost completely, as the inscription (as recorded by MacAlister) reads: ORAIT DO DIARMAIT RI LAGEN - 'a prayer for Diarmait, king of Leinster', almost certainly Diarmait Mac Murchada.

The portal itself is of four orders, with what is known as a 'tangent gable' above; so called because the lines of the gable are at a tangent to the arch of the doorway itself. These gables are usually thought to derive from the north porch at Cormac's Chapel, Cashel, (1127-34), widely acknowledged as one of the first, most ambitious and most influential Romanesque buildings in Ireland. Tangent gables are found elsewhere at Roscrea and Donaghmore in Co. Tipperary, Clonfert, Co. Galway, and at Freshford in Co. Kilkenny. It is very possible that the gable here contained a figure, similar to that at Roscrea, and parallels for this are also found in England, at Lullington in Somerset. Certainly the Killeshin portal has been disassembled and reassembled at some stage in its history, and several stones are missing - the portal is not as intact as it at first appears.

The decoration itself on the portal is extremely fine, and it should particularly be noted that among the chevrons of the voussoirs, and filling up the spandrels, are a variety of small beasts and birds, which seem to show manuscript and metalwork influence. Indeed, the low relief work on the doorway would originally have been painted, as the use of different coloured stones (granite and sandstone) used randomly, clearly indicates. Stalley has suggested that the scribes of the monasteries may have been responsible for drawing the original patterns, which were perhaps only then carved by the masons, and this opens up intriguing possibilities of the interactions between various craftsmen in the early medieval period in Ireland.

Killeshin is one of the few Romanesque churches in Ireland to have a remaining inscription, along with Freshford (already mentioned), Monaincha, Co. Tipperary, and a recently discovered fragment built into Temple-na-Hoe at Ardfert, Co. Kerry. The inscription at Killeshin makes clear the secular patronage of the church at this time, and thereby links it with other foundations by Diarmait Mac Murchada, including nearby Baltinglass Abbey, Co. Wicklow, which intriguingly shows some related architectural features such as bulbous column bases. The stylised human head between two tiny birds, which forms the keystone of the outer order also brings us to another Leinster site: St Saviour's Priory at Glendalough, where again in the internal frame of the east window, two birds are shown holding a man's head between their beaks.

Altogether it is no wonder that scholars consider Killeshin as one of the most interesting examples of the Hiberno-Romanesque style.

Timahoe Round Tower

Round towers are among the few subjects that are almost as controversial today, as they were a hundred and fifty years ago. Their function has been subject to endless speculation, despite the generally accepted opinion that George Petrie put forward in his 1845 book, An Essay on the Origins and Uses of the Round Towers of Ireland that they were, as their Irish name cloigthech suggests, belfries or bell towers. Constructed in Ireland from the 10th century onwards, they are fairly difficult to date, but despite the controversy over the chronology of round towers, it is clear that Timahoe round tower is 12th century, as the Romanesque doorway is closely related to nearby Killeshin church.

Few round towers show decorative detail around the doorway - even towers built at the height of the Romanesque often had plain doorways, such as Devenish, Co. Fermanagh, and Ardmore, Co. Waterford, with decorative detailing elsewhere on the tower. However at Timahoe, the capitals and bases of the doorway are ornamented with human masks, with interlace hair, while the arch is decorated with chevrons. Petrie described it as 'the finest of its kind remaining in Ireland' (Petrie, 1845, p.232.) The comparisons with Killeshin are so striking, that it is very likely that they are both by same workshop, which raises interesting questions with regard to specialisation among stone masons in early Ireland, as the building of a round tower was a technically difficult task in comparison with the simple stone churches which were in vogue.

Carlow Castle & the Rock of Dunamase

Carlow Castle

Carlow manor and castle were held at the end of the 12th century by John de Clahull, and historical evidence remains which records that Hugh de Lacy built a castle for him in Obargi, which can probably now be identified with the earth and timber fore-runner of Carlow Castle. With a strategic position on the River Barrow, the castle was in fact on a marsh, and protected by water and outer defenses, both of which have been destroyed in modern times. Excavation of the site in 1997 revealed some post holes which confirm the situation of the timber structure. The Castle as we know it is of early 13th-century date, and was probably erected by William Marshall sometime c.1210-1220, after Marshall had taken Carlow over from his vassal, and as part of his aim to turn it into a prosperous trading town like New Ross further downriver. Architectural details in the keep suggest a date in the 1220s. However, the massive keep, with circular towers at each corner, was only part of the system of defences - of the curtain wall no trace now remains. The outbuildings, which included a hall, a kitchen and a prison have also left no mark, and quarrying in modern times means that excavations would prove futile. Even the keep itself has suffered quite badly, with only one of the walls with its corner towers now remaining, due to the undermining of the eastern wall in 1814 by a certain Dr Middleton, in his attempt to turn the castle into a lunatic asylum!

Ben Murtagh explains the history of Carlow Castle

Dunamase

The Antiquaries on the Rock of Dunamase

Dunamase, a dramatic outcrop of stone in the otherwise level plains of Laois, has been a site of secular lordship from the earliest times. Indeed, recent excavations have revealed the existence of a native Irish stone fort beneath one of the gateways of the inner ward of the extant Anglo-Norman building. Meiler Fitzhenry and William Marshal constructed the first stone castle here, and the fortress was complete by 1211. William de Bruce rebuilt and enlarged it c.1250. The rectangular keep is partially of thirteenth-century date, although showing alterations from the 16th century. The Castle was badly destroyed by the Cromwellian forces in 1650, under Hewson and Reynolds, but even the ruins as they stand today are impressive.

Excursions and Outings 2010