Church, Kilbarrack Lower, Co. Dublin
Co. Dublin |
Churches & Chapels
At Sutton Strand on Dublin's northern coast, a medieval ruin sits on elevated ground behind a much-expanded modern graveyard, partly patched with concrete and metal railings where its western gable once stood.
This is the Chapel of Mone, a quietly deteriorating structure that most people passing along the coast road would be unlikely to notice at all, let alone associate with one of the earlier chapters of Irish ecclesiastical history.
The site is reportedly that of a church founded by St Berach in the 6th century, though what remains above ground today belongs to a considerably later building, with fabric dating from the late 12th to early 13th century. The ruins preserve the basic layout of a nave and chancel with a south aisle, a common arrangement in medieval parish churches of this period. The nave measures roughly 9.8 metres long by 5.1 metres wide, built of roughly coursed masonry that has been extensively ribbon-pointed, a method of repointing stonework with raised mortar bands that, while sometimes well-intentioned, can accelerate weathering beneath the surface. Several architectural details remain legible despite the general decay: a blocked doorway in the north wall, now overgrown, and two round segmental arched openings connecting the nave to the south aisle. In the chancel, a round arch of cut sandstone with chamfered jambs, the angled edges worked to soften the transition between surfaces, retains holes that once held glazing bars. The east window, tall and pointed, is the most complete surviving feature. The east gable of the south aisle still reaches full height, recorded as such in Walsh's 1888 survey and apparently much the same today.
The ruins are reached from the coast road at Sutton Strand, with the remains sitting to the southeast of the graveyard, which continues in active use and has expanded well beyond the medieval boundary. Visitors should be prepared for a working burial ground rather than a managed heritage site; the ruin itself is not signposted in any obvious way. The stonework repays a close look, particularly the sandstone chancel arch and the east window, though vegetation around the north wall doorway can obscure detail depending on the time of year. Visiting in late autumn or winter, when growth dies back, gives the clearest view of what remains.