St. Lachtain's Church was built in 1731 in the village of Freshford,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The church is named after '' St. Lachtain'' who died in

Donoughmore Donoughmore (spelt ''Donaghmore'' by Ordnance Survey Ireland; Irish: ''Domhnach Mór'') is a civil and Catholic parish in County Cork, Ireland. This rural district lies west-northwest of Cork city. Donoughmore is divided between the Dáil Cons ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, in 622. It is almost certain that a church was built on the present site soon after St Lachtain's death. During the period of

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

raiding of Ireland, St Lachtain's was robbed of its gold and silver ornaments and its books were burned. The arch bears an inscription in

old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

and translates into English as:

''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.''

St. Lachtain's church was rebuilt in 1100. The Hiberno- Romanesque porch and doorway being the only remaining part of the former structure. During St. Lachtain's time Freshford was a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

and by 1225 a Bishop's palace for the diocese was built in nearby Uppercourt. The palace was used as a summer residence for over 300 years. The remainder of the present church was built in 1731 for the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

. In the 19th century gates were placed in front of the main entrance to stop the locals from sharpening their knives on the stone doorway.

National Monument

The sandstone Romanesque portal is deemed a

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 ...

. {{coord, 52.732684, N, 7.397826, W, region:IE-KK_type:landmark, display=title Churches in County Kilkenny National monuments in County Kilkenny Church of Ireland church buildings in the Republic of Ireland Romanesque architecture in Ireland