Kilkenny No. 1 / Cill Chainnigh / Inchiholohan

Described in a presentation to The Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society on 11 April 1866 by the Rev. James Graves, and illustrated with an engraving by O. Jewitt: "the ancient font of the parish church of Kells [...] This font was of very early date, decidedly Norman in its character and ornamentation. The bowl presented the form of the Norman 'cushion' capital, and was originally carved [...] only at one angle -- the remaining angles never having received the enrichment which was evidently intended. The material was freestone, and probably was imported from England. The pillar was originally higher, one stone being now lost, and the bowl was intended to be lined with lead; the remains of hinges, and of a fastening or hasp, showed that it was originally provided with a cover [...] The date of this font might safely be assigned to the latter end of the twelfth century; and it was probably carved by some of the English Canons introduced by De Marisco [i.e., Geoffrey De Marisco, founder of the monastery at Kells in 1183], as it bears no trace of Hiberno-Romanesque workmanship. It now [i.e., 1866] [...] serves as the font for the Cathedral of St. Canice [i.e., in Kilkenny], the four angles having been newly carved in facsimile of the original ornamentation, and the bowl suitably restored." Described and illustrated in Pike (1989: 13-14) as a cushion-capital font. probably of the late 12th or 13th century, and originally from Inchiholohan, in the same county; the font is square inside with a drain now blocked; the pedestal base may be of a later date or reconstructed. Pike (ibid.) describes the ornamentation as "Old English leaf on two sides with Fleur-de-lis in the spandrels". The font is shown to the W of the penultimate column on the SW side of the nave in a plan of the church interior, in a drawing by J.G. Brien, in Francis Grose (1791, vol. 1), reproduced in Barry (1985: pl. 11b on p. [29]). BSI on-site visit notes: unlike the large showy font near the entrance [cf. BSI entry for Kilkenny No. 2] this font gets a less visible location in the northwest corner of the nave; it consists of square basin shaped roughly in the cushion-capital style common in many Norman fonts of England [cf. supra], raised on a base of clustered colonnettes [cf. supra -- the base in the earlier sources appears to be different from the present one], and a modern square plinth. It is located against the wall, which makes it difficult to view the sides properly, some of which appear to be decorated with floral motifs [cf. supra]. The upper rim of the basin is worn and damaged; earlier source reported no drain hole in the basin interior but there are actually two holes visible there now, although they are not the usual ones one would expect [cf. ImagesArea]. The whole appearance is of a crude work, perhaps made locally in the general cushion-capital design style well-known in fonts in England and a few in Ireland. The material of the font could be sandstone or Dundry limestone. Access to the area where the font stands was restricted as there had been safety issues at the time of our visit, but the Cathedral staff were most helpful in providing access for us to do the work.
A set of digital photographs taken 7 September 2024 by A.-K. D. may be see in Wikipedia [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Inchiholohan_baptismal_font] [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/inchiholohan-font-89709f5a77434fd2baef337212b8685c] [accessed 25 July 2025]; its caption reads: "This baptismal font came from the townland of Castleinch or Inchyolaghan and was moved into St. Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny for safekeeping, where it sits in a corner of the Northern transept overlooked by most visitors (including myself at previous visits). The carved face is facing away from the onlooker. Due to[e] its position close to the wall, I was unable to take pictures from all angles. It is part of the cushion shape style font group which is one of the earliest Anglo-Norman types in Ireland. They’re usually made of sandstone or Dundry stone [a limestone]. It seems to be unfinished fo[r] whatever reason. Compare to the Freshford one of a different style which is also unfinished. Described by Joan Pike in her 1989 article in the Old Kilkenny Rev. [cf. supra]. SMR no. KK019-026129-"