Above Image: The entry gate / stile
Above Image: The North Eastern arched doorway
Above Image: Steeple with South Eastern doorway
Above Image: Interior of steeple looking up
Above Image: South Western aspect
Above Image: Remnant from the church
The remains of this Church of Ireland church are built on the site of a former medieval church which was destroyed by Cromwellian forces during the 17th century invasion of Ireland. It is located in the barony of LOWER-DEECE in County Meath.
The present ruin is from a church built in 1811 for £900 funded by the Board of First Fruits. The church served the protestant community until it was abandoned circa 1909 and left to fall into ruin. A local man subsequently bought the building and demolished all but the steeple using the material in other constructions.
Today, the steeple serves as a landmark for the small cemetery that surrounds it and is as quiet and bucolic a place you could ever find.
We visited on a mild Autumn day parking the car on the verge just outside the cemetery gate. We had been on a drive in the area and couldn't help noticing the steeple standing tall like an Apollo rocket ready to launch moonward.The ruin is accessed by way of the main gate or by an adjacent pedestrian-friendly stile in the form of several stone steps and handrail.
The base of the steeple has arched doors on the North East and South-East sides and rises to approx. three storeys high culminating in a further stone conical extension rising nearly a further storey in height.
Within the arched base area, which would have been the entry porch, lies a good deal of rubble, some from the non-extant Nave and some from the collapsed interior floors of the steeple. You can stand within the old porch and see right up to the conical top.
Quite a few of these old Protestant steeples can be found in Ireland devoid of their former naves and chancels but still providing striking landmarks in the countryside.
To find the ruin take the M3 Motorway and exit at junction 6 taking the R125 heading West for Kilcock. Drive until you reach a roundabout at Merrywell and take the third exit signposted for Drumree (L22082). Drive approx. 1KM and then take the first left turn. Drive down this road which bends right and then left bringing you to the gate of the cemetery. There is room to park at the gate.
