St. Lachtain's Church
Encyclopedia
Freshford, Ireland
Freshford is a village in the barony of Crannagh, County Kilkenny, Ireland.-History:The village is the site of a monastery dating to the early 7th century...
, County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...
in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
on the R693
R693 road
The R693 road is a regional road in Ireland linking Urlingford to Kilkenny City, all in County Kilkenny. It passes through the small town of Freshford en route.The road is long.-References:* – Department of Transport...
regional road
Regional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...
.
St. Lachtain died in Donoughmore
Donoughmore
Donoughmore is a parish in County Cork which lies 25 km west north west of Cork city in Ireland.-Amenities:Donoughmore has two primary schools. Scoil Iósaif and St. Lachteen's...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
in 622 AD. It is almost certain that a church was built in the present site after 622 AD. The Danes (also known as Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s or Norsemen
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
) robbed it of its gold and silver ornaments and burnt all its books, as they could not read.
The church was replaced in 1100, however all that is left of the 1100 church is the beautiful Hiberno-Romanesque (Irish-Roman) architectural porch and doorway. The remainder of the present church was built for Protestant worship in 1731. If you look at the arch you will see old Irish writing, which says:
A prayer for Niamh, daughter of Corc, and for Mathgamhan O Chearmaic for whom this church was made. A prayer for Gille Mocholmoc O Chearmaic for whom this church was made. A prayer for Gille Mocholmoc O Ceannucain who made it.
In St. Lachtains time Freshford was a diocese. In 1225 a Bishops palace was built at Aghore (Achadh Ur), now Uppercourt. It was used as a summer residence for over 300 years.
National Monument
The sandstone Romanesque portal is deemed a National MonumentNational Monument (Ireland)
The Irish state has officially approved the following List of National Monuments of Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, a structure or site may be deemed to be a "National Monument", and therefore worthy of state protection, if it is of national importance...
.