Liathmore Churches
Church in County Tipperary, Ireland
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Liathmore Churches are two medieval churches forming a National Monument in County Tipperary, Ireland.
| Liathmore Churches | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teampaill an Liath Mór | |||||||||
Foundations of a round tower | |||||||||
  Liathmore Churches | |||||||||
| 52.67055°N 7.66861°W | |||||||||
| Location | Liath, Two-Mile Borris, County Tipperary | ||||||||
| Country | Ireland | ||||||||
| Denomination | Church of Ireland | ||||||||
| Previous denomination | Catholic | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| Founded | 12th century | ||||||||
| Architecture | |||||||||
| Functional status | inactive | ||||||||
| Specifications | |||||||||
| Materials | stone | ||||||||
| Administration | |||||||||
| Diocese | Cashel and Emly | ||||||||
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Location
The Liathmore site, also known as 'Liathmore-Mochoemóg',[1] is located in the townland of Leigh (Liath) approximately 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) east of the village of Two-Mile Borris.
History
St Mochoemog (d. 655) founded the monastery here. There are two churches and the footings of a round tower.[2]
The smaller church is the earlier and dates to the early medieval period; the larger church is late medieval and was begun in the 12th century, and contains a number of tombs.[3]
Building
A sheela-na-gig carving, known as the Liathmore Sheela-na-gig, is located on the left hand side of a Romanesque doorway belonging to the larger of the two churches.[4]
The larger church: nave is 41'4" x 18'8" (12.6 x 5.7 m), and the chancel 26'9" x 16'2" (8.2 x 4.9 m). It was originally a single-chamber church with antae at the east end.[5]
The circular foundation proved to be the base of an Irish round tower. As there is no historical record or oral tradition of a tower here it is thought that it must have fallen, and its stones removed, sometime before 1500. The diameter was 15 ft. 6in. (4.7 m).[6]
Liathmore round tower from above
Liathmore sheela na gig
