Coolaghmore / Cooliagh More / Cooliaghmore
INFORMATION
Font ID: 25865COO
Object Type: Baptismal Font1, basin only
Font Date: n.d.
Font Century and Period/Style: 13th century (?), Medieval
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church [in ruins]
Font Location in Church: Outside, built into a wall in the ruins
Church Notes: 13thC church; abandoned 17thC(?) -- Sheela-na-gig found in this church noted and illustrated; a 3-D model of the Sheela may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/st-marys-parish-sheela-na-gig-kk019-026170-08a3c31ceff246ac881c6e2190db5ddc[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolaghmore_Sheela-na-gig] [accessed 22 July 2025]
Church Address: Coolaghmore, Coolagh, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
Site Location: Kilkenny, Leinster, Republic of Ireland, Europe
Directions to Site: Located off (N) the R698-L1028 crossroads, E of the N76, 4-5 km S of Callan
Historical Region: Barony of Kells
Additional Comments: disused font / re-purposed font? [cf. FontNotes]
Font Notes:
Click to view
The octagonal [square with large trimmed corners] baptismal font of stone originally from this church is now built into the ruins in a way that suggests it may have been re-purposed as holy-water stoup at some point; only the basin and its cylindrical extension below remain; the inner well of the basin has a central drain; the base is lacking. A 3-D model of the font made by b-unicycling may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/coolaghmore-font-fe77a4021fba4c1a9172c104cb39526b] [accessed 22 July 2025]; the model is captioned: "A medieval font built into the older church ruin at Coolaghmore. It is actually accessible from the outside of the church, maybe it was used as a holy water basin."
COORDINATES
UTM: 29U 609690 5818137
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 52.50232, -7.38399
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 52° 30′ 8.35″ N, 7° 23′ 2.36″ W
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone
Font Shape: octagonal, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal
Drainage System: centre hole in basin
Drainage Notes: no lining