Kilmacomb
INFORMATION
Font ID: 09313KIL
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: Medieval
Church / Chapel Name: Old church [in ruins/disappeared]
Font Location in Church: Reported in 1891 in the ruins of the old church
Church Patron Saint(s): [the old church was originally dedicated probably to St. Machar [aka Mochumma]; later to St. Matthew and. later still, to St. John the Baptist, according to Power [cf. FontsNotes]
Church Notes: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland of 1868 reported: "The church is a ruin"
Church Address: Kilmacomb, Dunmore East, Waterford, Ireland
Site Location: Waterford / Port Láirge, Munster, Republic of Ireland, Europe
Directions to Site: Located near Dunmore, 8 km SSE of Waterford, "on the old road over Foylune Hill, leading from Waterford to Dunmore", according to Power [cf. FontNotes]
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Waterford
Historical Region: Barony of Gaultier
Additional Comments: abandoned font / buried font / fragment of a font
Font Notes:
Click to view
Patrick Power (1891: 476) reported to the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland that "no traces of the original church now remain, except a rude stone font, circular in form, which was discovered a few years since in removing an earthen fence beside the church".
A 3-D model of the object by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/kilmasantan-font-du025-033003-7222397a33914f669b65f83c4332545f] [accessed 26 July 2025]; its caption reads: "Medieval baptismal font of the medieval church ruins (DU025-033001-) (Kilmasantan/Kilmasanctan/Church of Santán), standing inside the gateway of the graveyard (DU025-033002-), in Glassavullaun (Glaise an Mhulláin/stream of the flat green field), in the parish of Tallaght, Co. Dublin. This church site was named after Bishop Santán, a saint whose feastday falls on June 10th. Santán was one of the three sons of a British king and an Irish mother [...] For more information, visit: https://maps.archaeology.ie/HistoricEnvironment/?SMRS=DU025-033003-"
A 3-D model of the object by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/kilmasantan-font-du025-033003-7222397a33914f669b65f83c4332545f] [accessed 26 July 2025]; its caption reads: "Medieval baptismal font of the medieval church ruins (DU025-033001-) (Kilmasantan/Kilmasanctan/Church of Santán), standing inside the gateway of the graveyard (DU025-033002-), in Glassavullaun (Glaise an Mhulláin/stream of the flat green field), in the parish of Tallaght, Co. Dublin. This church site was named after Bishop Santán, a saint whose feastday falls on June 10th. Santán was one of the three sons of a British king and an Irish mother [...] For more information, visit: https://maps.archaeology.ie/HistoricEnvironment/?SMRS=DU025-033003-"
COORDINATES
UTM: 30N 362706 5762927
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone
Number of Pieces: one
Font Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
REFERENCES
- Power, Patrick, "The Ancient Ruined Churches of Co. Waterford", 21, Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 1891, pp. 475-482; p. 476