Taghmon Church () is a

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedra ...

and National Monument in County Westmeath, Ireland.

Location

Taghmon Church is located east of Crookedwood, southeast of

Lough Derravaragh Lough Derravaragh ( ga, Loch Dairbhreach) is a lake in County Westmeath, Ireland, north of Mullingar between Castlepollard, Crookedwood and Multyfarnham. Lough Derravaragh sits on the River Inny which flows from Lough Sheelin on its way t ...

History

A monastery was established on the site in the 7th century by Fintán, also called Munna or Munnu. St. Munna's was built as a

in the early 15th century. It was plundered by Farrell Mageoghegan in 1452. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the church passed to the Nugent family. It was almost ruined by 1622. The church is recorded as being in use again by the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

by 1755 and was restored extensively in 1843.

Church

The church is a single cell with a barrel-

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

roof. It has

battlements A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

with Irish

crenellations A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

and a machicolation above the door. The church and tower also have a pronounced

base-batter In architecture, batter is a receding slope of a wall, structure, or earthwork. A wall sloping in the opposite direction is said to ''overhang''. When used in fortifications it may be called a talus. The term is used with buildings and non-bui ...

. The tall tower at the west end of the church provided security for the clergy. There is a sheela-na-gig above the first window of the north wall. The tower is four storeys high, with

ceilings over the first and third storeys. The second floor was the living area, with

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design ...

, window seats and a slop stone (a channel through the thickness of a wall for the disposal of waste water). Above this was a bedroom and

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

References

{{Reflist Churches in County Westmeath Archaeological sites in County Westmeath National Monuments in County Westmeath Former churches in the Republic of Ireland