Johnstown nr. Urlingford / Baile Sheáin / Coorthafooka / Cúirt an Phúca / Grangefertagh
Image copyright © Edwin Rae Collection (TRIARC. TCD), 2014
Reproduced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 licence
Results: 9 records
symbol - star - 6-point - inscribed rosette
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Edwin Rae Collection (TRIARC. TCD), 2014
Image Source: digital version of a B&W photograph by Edwin Rae [(handwritten on back of image): C335, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny: R.C. parish church: font from S.W. (stamp on back: A703)][http://hdl.handle.net/2262/16422] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: Reproduced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 licence
design element - motifs - tracery - Gothic
Scene Description: some are window tracery; others more geometrical
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Edwin Rae Collection (TRIARC. TCD), 2014
Image Source: digital version of a B&W photograph by Edwin Rae [(handwritten on back of image): C335, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny: R.C. parish church: font from S.W. (stamp on back: A703)][http://hdl.handle.net/2262/16422] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: Reproduced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 licence
view of basin - southwest side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Edwin Rae Collection (TRIARC. TCD), 2014
Image Source: digital version of a B&W photograph by Edwin Rae [(handwritten on back of image): C335, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny: R.C. parish church: font from S.W. (stamp on back: A703)][http://hdl.handle.net/2262/16422] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: Reproduced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 licence
symbol - cross - Greek - in a circle
Scene Description: sharing the side of the basin with three other circle motifs
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Edwin Rae Collection (TRIARC. TCD), 2014
Image Source: digital version of a B&W photograph by Edwin Rae [(handwritten on back of image): C334, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny: R.C. parish church: font from N.W. (stamp on back: A703)][www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/16421] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: Reproduced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 licence
design element - motifs - circle - concentric
Scene Description: three of them sharing the side of the basin with en encircled Greek cross
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Edwin Rae Collection (TRIARC. TCD), 2014
Image Source: digital version of a B&W photograph by Edwin Rae [(handwritten on back of image): C334, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny: R.C. parish church: font from N.W. (stamp on back: A703)][www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/16421] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: Reproduced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 licence
human figure - head
Scene Description: it could be wearing a cruciferous halo (Christ?)
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Edwin Rae Collection (TRIARC. TCD), 2014
Image Source: digital version of a B&W photograph by Edwin Rae [(handwritten on back of image): C334, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny: R.C. parish church: font from N.W. (stamp on back: A703)][www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/16421] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: Reproduced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 licence
view of basin - northwest side
Scene Description: the motif on the left-most panel could be a stylised tree or plant; the next to the right, an animal?
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Edwin Rae Collection (TRIARC. TCD), 2014
Image Source: digital version of a B&W photograph by Edwin Rae [(handwritten on back of image): C334, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny: R.C. parish church: font from N.W. (stamp on back: A703)][www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/16421] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: Reproduced under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 licence
view of church exterior
Scene Description: another view of the ruins of the church at Fertagh (Diocese of Ossory), where the font is believed to have originated -- Photo caption: "General view of the church at Fertagh. The nave is to the right of the image, it was converted into a handball alley. The MacGillapadraig mortuary chapel is to the left, north of the nave."
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © TRIARC. TCD, 2014
Image Source: digital photograph taken 14 November 2011 by Roger Stalley, in the The Stalley Collection (Digital Image Collection)
[http://hdl.handle.net/2262/57664] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0
view of church exterior
Scene Description: a view of the ruins of the church at Fertagh (Diocese of Ossory), where the font is believed to have originated -- Photo caption: "General view of the church at Fertagh. The nave is to the right of the image, it was converted into a handball alley. The MacGillapadraig mortuary chapel is to the left, north of the nave."
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © TRIARC. TCD, 2014
Image Source: digital photograph taken 14 November 2011 by Roger Stalley, in the The Stalley Collection (Digital Image Collection)
[http://hdl.handle.net/2262/57664] [accessed 8 June 2014]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0
INFORMATION
Font ID: 00876JOH
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 14th - 15th century, Medieval [altered]
Workshop/Group/Artisan: Rory O'Tunny / O'Tunney workshop in Callan?
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Kieran (R.C.)
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, at the E end of the nave, near the presbitery, towards the S side
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Ciaran (aka Kieran)
Previous Font Location(s): formerly at Fertagh / Grangefertagh church
Church Address: Chapel Street, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
Site Location: Kilkenny, Leinster, Republic of Ireland, Europe
Directions to Site: Johnstown is 40 km SW down the N8 from Portlaoise, near Urlingford and Kilccoley Abbey, 120 km from Dublin.
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Ossory
Additional Comments: recycled font: originally from Fertagh church / altered font (the base said to be modern by one source while another describes it as restructured)
Font Notes:
Click to view
Described and illustrated in Pike (1989): "The very beautifully carved font was brought out of Fertagh Church and is in use in St. Kieran's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1832, in Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny. This font is made of limestone and has 16 sides. It is lead lined and has two compartments inside the bowl. There is a drain in the smaller compartment. The decoration on the sixteen sides shows Gothic window tracery, a cross, star, spirals and triangles. Pedestal and base have been restructured. There is no plinth. The illustration in Pike shows a low-dome pointed font cover on the font. Noted and illustrated in the TRIARC - Edwin Rae Collection (Digital Image Collection) [www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/16421] [accessed 8 June 2014].
A set of digital photographs taken 26 October 2024 by A.-K. D. may be seen in Wikipedia [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grangefertagh_baptismal_font.jpg] [accessed 26 July 2025].
A 3-D model of this font made by b-unicycling may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/grangefertagh-font-68f9b0c589a04dc09c1ae5a43aa80e99] [accessed 23 July 2025]; the caption reads: "Baptismal font in St Kieran’s Church in Johnstown, originally from Grangefertagh. It was most likely made in the O’Tunney workshop in Callan and shows motifs recognizable from architecture in Co. Kilkenny and Tipperary. The material is limestone (probably from the O’Tunney quarry in Mallardstown) and the base modern."
A set of digital photographs taken 26 October 2024 by A.-K. D. may be seen in Wikipedia [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grangefertagh_baptismal_font.jpg] [accessed 26 July 2025].
A 3-D model of this font made by b-unicycling may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/grangefertagh-font-68f9b0c589a04dc09c1ae5a43aa80e99] [accessed 23 July 2025]; the caption reads: "Baptismal font in St Kieran’s Church in Johnstown, originally from Grangefertagh. It was most likely made in the O’Tunney workshop in Callan and shows motifs recognizable from architecture in Co. Kilkenny and Tipperary. The material is limestone (probably from the O’Tunney quarry in Mallardstown) and the base modern."
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Dr. Rachel Moss, and to Trinity College, Dublin, for the copy of Ms. Pike's work, and to Ms. Joan Pike for her kind permission to reproduce her original drawings].
COORDINATES
UTM: 29U 597403 5845334
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone, limestone
Number of Pieces: two
Font Shape: polygonal (16 sides) (mounted)
Basin Exterior Shape: polygonal (16 sides)
Drainage System: centre hole in basin [in the smaller compartment]
Height of Basin Side: 22. 86 cm*
Basin Total Height: 40.64 cm*
Height of Base: 61.02 cm*
Font Height (with Plinth): 101.6 cm*
Trapezoidal Basin: 76.2 cm* [across]
Notes on Measurements: * Pike (1989: 37)
LID INFORMATION
Date: unknown
Apparatus: no
Notes: The lid appears to have a low-dome pointed shape in Pike's drawing (1989: 37)
REFERENCES
- Pike, Joan H.K., "Medieval Fonts of Ireland", [Supplied courtesy of The Dept. of the History of Art, Trinity College, Dublin], [Ireland]: [Privately printed], 1989, p. 37