In 2018 I was walking my dog, Peig, on our usual route along Marlfield Road. As we passed the field where the 19th century St. Patrick’s Church stands (NIAH Reg. No. 22112014) Peig stopped to sniff at the wall. I looked down to see what distracted her and noticed a medieval architectural fragment that had been incorporated in the long boundary wall.
The fragment is decorated and may have formed part of a medieval graveslab or perhaps an architectural detail. The field where St. Patrick’s Church stands is believed to have been the site of the Cistercian Monastery of Inishlounaght, founded in the 12th century (TS083-017—-). Nothing can be seen of this once important monastic site beyond some architectural fragments and graveslabs in the churchyard of the 19th century church. This latest discovery gives us another tiny piece of the jigsaw. The fragment has now been added to the Archaeological Survey of Ireland (TS083-037—-).
This architectural fragment had been hidden in plain sight, I must have walked past it countless times until Peig the Barkaeologist stopped to sniff!
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Excellent! There is another fragment in the steps in the wall beside the road to the west of the lake at Marlfield.
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