St. Seachnall's Church is a medieval church and

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 spec ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

, Ireland.

Location

St. Seachnall's Church is in the centre of

Dunshaughlin Dunshaughlin ( or locally ) is a town in County Meath, Ireland. A commuter town for nearby Dublin, Dunshaughlin more than tripled in population (from 1,275 to 4,035 inhabitants) between the 1991 and 2016 censuses. History Foundation Dunshaugh ...

, slightly east of the R147 (formerly the N3 main road).

History

The R147 road curves around the church, suggesting that an ancient ecclesiastical enclosure has become fossilised in the street layout.

Secundinus Secundinus (fl. 5th century), or Sechnall (Modern Irish: ''Seachnall'') as he was known in Irish, was founder and patron saint of Domhnach Sechnaill, Co. Meath, who went down in medieval tradition as a disciple of St Patrick and one of the first ...

(d. 447; variously Sechnall, Seachnall, Seachnail, Secundus) was son of was a son of Restitutus, a Lombard, and Lubaid, traditionally said to be a sister of Saint Patrick and founder of a church on the site between AD 439 and 447. The name

is ultimately from ''Domhnach Seachnall'' – the church of Seachnall. The name

Máel Sechnaill Máel Sechnaill, an early Irish personal name meaning "Devotee of St Sechnall" who is thought to be a 5th century Italian Bishop that preceded St Patrick. It may refer to: *Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid (d. 862), high-king of Ireland *Máel S ...

– servant of Seachnall – was common among

Kings of Tara The term Kingship of Tara () was a title of authority in ancient Ireland - the title is closely associated with the archaeological complex at the Hill of Tara. The position was considered to be of eminent authority in medieval Irish literatur ...

. According to a legend recorded in

An Leabhar Breac An Leabhar Breac ("The Speckled Book"; Middle Irish: An Lebar Brec), now less commonly Leabhar Mór Dúna Doighre (The Great Book of Dun Doighre") or possibly erroneously, Leabhar Breac Mic Aodhagáin ("The Speckled Book of the MacEgans"), is a ...

, the 7th-century Eucharistic hymn

Sancti venite "" is a Latin Eucharistic hymn recorded in the Antiphonary of Bangor. History "" was composed at Bangor Abbey in the 7th century AD, making it the oldest known Eucharistic hymn. It was carried to Bobbio Abbey and was first published by Ludo ...

was first sung by

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

at Dunshaughlin, after

had reconciled with his uncle Saint Patrick. The abbots of Dunshaughlin are recorded in the 9th century, beginning with Ruamnus (d. 801), and continuing to Scannal mac Fergil (murdered 886).

Erenach The medieval Irish office of erenagh (Old Irish: ''airchinnech'', Modern Irish: ''airchinneach'', Latin: ''princeps'') was responsible for receiving parish revenue from tithes and rents, building and maintaining church property and overseeing the ...

s and

coarb A coarb, from the Old Irish ''comarbae'' (Modern Irish ''comharba'', Latin: ''hērēs''), meaning "heir" or "successor", was a distinctive office of the medieval church among the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland. In this period coarb appears intercha ...

s (lay guardians of a parish church and headman of the family in hereditary occupation of church lands) of Dunshaughlin are recorded in AD 952, 1027 and 1040. The monastery at Dunshaughlin was burned down in raids in AD 1026, 1142 and 1143. It was also plundered by the

Uí Briúin The Uí Briúin were a royal dynasty of Connacht. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brión, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the ...

in 1152. Dunshaughlin was also probably the church site of the

Síl nÁedo Sláine Síl nÁedo Sláine () are the descendants of Áed Sláine (Áed mac Diarmato), son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Co ...

kings of the 6th–8th century. After the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of Kingdom of England, England then claimed sovereignty ...

Dunshaughlin became a seigniorial manor of

Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy (; before 1135 – 25 July 1186), was an Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder. He had substantial land holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Following his participation in the Norman Inv ...

. The earthwork c. 700 m to the south of the church could be a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

built by him. Thereafter, the church became parochial. A church at "Denclynschael" is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation (1302–06) of

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...

James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his iden ...

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 second l ...

Archbishop of Armagh described the church and chancel of "Donshahlen" as ruined in 1622. Isaac Butler, writing in 1749, describes the church and tower as in good repair, but the chancel was ruined. The present

church was built in 1813 north of the older structure.

Church

The remains of the parish church, consisting of one

pointed arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown, whose two curving sides meet at a relatively sharp angle at the top of the arch. This architectural element was particularly important in Gothic architecture. The earlie ...

and two

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

of an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

, suggest that its

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

had

aisles Aisles is a six-piece progressive rock band originally from Santiago, Chile. The group was formed in 2001 by brothers Germán (guitar) and Luis Vergara (keyboards), and childhood friend Rodrigo Sepúlveda (guitar). Later on, it expanded to incl ...

. An octagonal limestone font has been moved to the modern church;it contained carvings in relief. Also present is a

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Cartha ...

scene carved in false

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

over the

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case o ...

of a doorway.

References

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