Tully Church is an ancient church in

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, Ireland.

Location

Tully Church lies in Laughanstown (; variously spelled ''Lehaunestown, Lehaunstown''); it is located in

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former ...

, 500 m south-southeast of Laughanstown Luas stop. Following redevelopment of the surrounding area, the church, its graveyard and the nearby high cross were incorporated into the 9-hectare Tully Park which opened in May 2023.

The building

The original church structure dates to the 6th–9th centuries AD. One ancient name is ''Telach-na-nun ecspop'' (Tullow of the bishops) and it must have been an important venue if

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s met there. There is a legend that seven bishops started out from there to visit St Brigid at Kildare. Elsewhere these bishops are mentioned as the "Seven Bishops of

Cabinteely Cabinteely () is a suburb of Dublin's southside. It is in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland. The population of all electoral divisions labelled as Cabinteely was 15,864 as of the 2022 census. Geography Cabinteely lies around t ...

" (

Alice Curtayne Alice Curtayne (1898–1981) was an Irish writer and lecturer. She was born on 6 November 1898 at 2 Upper Castle St, Tralee, County Kerry. She was a daughter of John Curtayne, carriage builder, or coach builder, of Castle St, Tralee, by his wife ...

, ''Saint Brigid of Ireland'') In 1179 the Church was granted to the Priory of The Holy Spirit. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, which is wider than the

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-type ...

, was added in the late 12th or early 13th century by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

. The unusually larger chancel was added to the nave during the early 13th century and has a rounded arch and two rounded headed east windows. The

dates to the 13th century. The church was in use up to about 1615. It came under the authority of

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the e ...

who supplied clergy to keep it going. It was reported to be in good condition when inspected in 1615, but according to a report in 1630 had been badly damaged in recent storms. After that it was abandoned and fell into ruin.

Crosses

The cross by the roadside is set upon a plinth and is dedicated to James Crehan (Grehan) who apparently saved the Cross from being discarded when the level of the road was being adjusted in the late 1800s. The plinth replicates the soil removed leaving the Cross standing at its original height. There are a set of worn steps on one side of the plinth which allows one to climb up and view the Cross closely. There is a second cross in the field opposite Tully Church. Previously only accessible via a low wooden fence, it now lies in the middle of a public park, close to a residential area. This cross dates from the 12th century and is also reputed to be dedicated to St Brigit.

References

{{Reflist Religion in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Archaeological sites in County Dublin National monuments in County Dublin