Piltown / Baile an Phoill / Ballyfoyle

Described and illustrated in Pike (1989: 24-25): medieval baptismal font probably "from the ancient Church of Kilmodalla, alias Kildaton", and now [ca. 1989] in use at the C. of I. parish church at Piltown. Pike (ibid.) describes the font as "octagonal with alternative short and long divisions of the octagon [...] possibly sandstone and has a central drain. It is tripartite with a round pedestal and a square plinth. The decoration is a Roundel on one of the small panels enclosing a six petal flower with deep fluting in the chamfer. There is three tiered shell pattern round the base of the pedestal."
Three digital photographs taken by A.-K. D. on 27 February 2025 of the baptismal font at Piltown St Paul's may be seen in Wikipedia [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baptismal_font_at_St_Paul's_Church_in_Piltown_3.jpg] [accessed 24 July 2025] captioned: "baptismal font at St Paul's Church in Piltown, but originally from the church in Fiddown KK039-022002" [indexed in the Archaeological Survey of Ireland under SMR No. KK039-022002-]. The font consists of an octagonal [square with four large chamfered corners] basin decorated on the chamfered sides with large 6-point star or 6-petal flower motifs; there is significant damage to one of the sides of the upper rim, obviously related to the metal anchorings of the old font; the underbowl is decorated with a trumpet-scallop patternl;raised on a round pedestal base that is plain on the stem but scalloped on the lower base, and has a roll moulding above the square end; on a plain square plinth. The pill-box wooden font cover is octagonal, shaped like the basin top; modern.
A 7 October 2017 entry in Mary Casteleyn's and Bernie Kirwan's Kilkenny Graveyards blogspot [https://kilkennygraveyards.blogspot.com/2017/10/fiddown-church-parish-of-fiddown-county.html] [accessed 24 July 2025] notes: "A very beautiful Holy water font was found here in 1805 in what was then called the "church field"; this font was removed to Piltown chapel and inserted in the wall of the chapel according to Carrigan (History of the Diocese of Ossory. Vol 4. 1905)" [NB: unable to 1)confirm that the object was a font, rather than a stoup, and 2)confirm its present location].