We found ourselves returning to the backwaters of Kildare once again and as on many other occasions where we presumed we had seen everything, up pops another ruin that we had overlooked.
I was researching the history around Father Moore's well (see previous post here) when the old church at Allen was mentioned. So on a quiet sunny weekday in July we headed out to locate this small church ruin.
The history behind the church at Allen is scant. Indeed its employment was quite short, just shy of a century. It was built in 1773 in a common for the time single cell rectangular style and was taken out of service in 1872 when a new and bigger church was constructed to serve the community.
We parked adjacent to the small pillared entrance gate which had a chain around the centre boding a possible no entry. But all was not so. The chain was simply clipped around to hold the gates together. The surrounding graveyard was in use until the 1940's but remains well maintained today. A great deal of this attention may be virtue to the fact that Father Moore, a well renowned priest and healer, is buried here. We had visited his memorial well a small distance away previously and again here in the church ruins a plaque displays how well regarded he was in the area.
The ruin itself has three of its walls intact to varying degrees with partial walls of ancillary buildings attached to the Southwest and Northeast facing walls.
On the North west gable there are the remains of a large decorative window with the top tip now non-extant. It is still nonetheless very striking.
Not too far from these ruins back on the road to Milltown is the famous Aylmer's Folly sitting on the top of the Hill of Allen (see previous post here) which may be a little more difficult to find parking at these days to when we had made our visit.
To find the church ruin at Allen take the junction 13 exit off the M7 motorway following the R415 into Kildare town. Go straight through the roundabout at the Kildare Village outlet until you reach a T-junction with the R445. Turn right here and drive into the town until you reach the square and turn left up the road opposite Daniel Boland's bar. This is a continuance of the R415. Drive approx. 5KM until you reach a T-junction at Milltown. Turn left and drive approx. 3KM until you see the pub The Leap Inn on your right. There is an ample room for car parking opposite and the gate to the ruin is adjacent to the pub on it's Northern end. Remember to re-chain the gate while there and upon leaving.
GPS: 53.239380, -6.854478
