Ballyneaning / Ballywiheen

Described and illustrated in Macalister (1898: 17-18) [the paper was read to the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland on 12 January 1897, and Macalister visited the site on 9 July 1896]: "Lying on the sill of the east window inside are two stone objects worthy of notice. One of these resembles a nether quern stone, much injured; it is 13 inches in diameter. The other is a circular bowl, 10 inches deep and 14 inches in external diameter; the bottom is rounded, and in the centre is drilled a hole 2 inches in diameter. The two fit together to form a font, or stoup, as represented in the figure [cf. Image Area]. A rough sketch of it is given in Brash's 'Ecclesiastical Architecture', which, however, contains no notice of the church." [NB: although the measurements suggest a holy-water stoup the presence of drain in both basin and base would indicate its use as baptismal font, whatever its origin]. Described and illustrated in Pike (1989: 8) as "a rudely fashioned circular stone vessel standing on a saucer shaped plinth; in the bottom of the bowl is an orif[i]ce for letting off the water". [We are grateful 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]