Moybologue Church and Graveyard
Explore the many interesting features of this historic graveyard situated in Cavan's peaceful countryside
Introduction
Moybologue Church and Graveyard are nestled on a hillside in east County Cavan. This is an ancient place, overlooking a truly historic landscape. Within its peaceful walls are the ruins of an old church, many memorials and other interesting features that hide an interesting tale.
The circular enclosure of Moybologue holds within it the ruins of a medieval stone church and many gravestones and memorials ranging in date from about the 8th century AD to today. However, the earliest stories associate it with mythical battles and and Ireland's patron saint. As the legend goes, Saint Patrick, who is believed to have founded the church in the 5th century, encountered a dangerous opponent here in the form of a man-eating pig!
Aerial view of Moybologue church and graveyard
Detail of headstone
We hope you enjoy exploring Moybologue discovering the features within its enclosure and in the surrounding landscape and the many stories they have to tell.
This StoryMap was created by Sharon Greene, Neil Jackman and Sara Nylund of Abarta Heritage on behalf of Moybologue Historical Society. It was funded by the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government through the Community Monuments Fund 2023 and supported by Cavan County Council.
Explore Moybologue Graveyard
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1
The Graveyard Enclosure
The stone wall along the roadside was built in the 19th century but the rest of the sub-circular graveyard enclosure consists of a combination of drystone wall and earthen bank. This reflects the original early medieval church enclosure. In the surrounding fields there are hints of a further outer enclosure.
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The Church
A long section of the north wall of the nave is our only clue to the size of the medieval stone church. The original early medieval church, founded around the 5th century, was built of wood. We know that in later medieval times this was a hospice or hospital church that gave shelter and hospitality to the poor and pilgrims. Some of the low stone walls you can see were built with rubble left from these earlier buildings.
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Ulbrun's Cross Slab
A small, rectangular grave slab, to the south of the nave, is inscribed with a medieval style cross above which is a short inscription in Irish: Ór du Ulbrun / ‘A prayer for Ulbrun’. Experts suggest that this may belong to either Ailbran, abbot of Trevet, who died in 774 or Ailbrenn, the abbot of Clonard, who died in 884.
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Early Cross Slab
Just inside the graveyard gate, standing beside the boundary wall, a small cross slab bears only a small cross-in-circle motif. This may be a grave marker belonging to the earliest centuries of this establishment.
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Bullaun Stones
Folklore links the foundation of Moybologue church with the national saint, Patrick. Legend has it that a beautiful woman named Gargan ate blackberries from the roadside on her way to mass, thereby breaking her fast. As a result she turned into a ferocious swine and went on a rampage, killing and eating the people gathering for the service. St Patrick went down on one knee and threw his holy water brush at her, causing her to be blown into four pieces. The stone he knelt on, which had the impressions of his knee and toe, used to be pointed out by locals. Perhaps one of the two small bullaun stones on the site was the stone St Patrick knelt on. Bullaun stones, which have one or more smooth circular hollows, are a common feature at early Christian churches and monasteries. There are two at Moybologue. One is built into the outside of the boundary wall near the gate, while the other appears to have been reused as a grave marker in the northern part of the graveyard.
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Wayside Crosses
Beside the surviving church wall, four small crosses have been cemented in place. Two are wayside crosses, once probably found on nearby roadsides and brought here for safekeeping. These crosses date to the 1600s and feature inscriptions as well as carvings of a bishop, a man with raised arms and cherubs.
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Holy Well
In the church ruins a medieval stone font is set into the ground. This is believed to be a holy well with the ability to cure warts.
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The Classical School
The two-storey, south transept is the best surviving portion of the church. This is because it was maintained right up to the mid-1700s. During the time of the Penal laws, Father John Garrigan lived here and ran a highly regarded Classical School.
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The Cleric's Effigy
A beautiful effigy stone depicting a cleric holding a chalice lies to the east of the church. This medieval memorial was reused in the 18th century when an inscription was added around the edge dedicating it to Father John Garrigan who died in 1721. Perhaps this is the same John Garrigan who ran the Classical school?
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Smith Memorial
This large, weathered slab, which is part of a box tomb, has a raised coat-of-arms crest with momento mori symbols beneath it - a skull, crossed long bones, a coffin, a bell and an hourglass. It was erected for Thorladh and Margaret Smith in either 1650 or 1680.
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Sacred ground
As you explore the graveyard you will find a number of gravestones for clerics such as this beautifully carved example dedicated to the memory of Luke Moynagh, pastor of Kilmore, who died in 1781.
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Bishop Farrell O'Reilly's Grave
This grave is the resting place of Bishop Farrell O’Reilly, a native of Bailieborough, who was appointed Bishop of Kilmore in 1807. He was laid to rest alongside his parents, his brother, Father Francis O’Reilly, and his nephew, Father Patrick O’Reilly, who died in the course of his ministry during the Great Famine of the 1840s.
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The Great Famine Grave
A local newspaper reported that in 1847, at the height of the Great Famine, eight people a day were being buried at Moybologue. They were placed in a mass-grave in the northern part of the graveyard. This area is now surrounded by a low wall and a memorial was erected in their memory in May 1997.
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18th & 19th Century Memorials
Throughout the graveyard there are many types of memorials, from small stones with simple inscriptions to large, expensive headstones. A stone with a large hole in it to the east of the church is probably a reused millstone.
The Medieval Landscape of Moybologue
This ancient landscape preserves relics from many periods of Ireland's past. Not far from the graveyard are the Cornaville megalithic tomb, built by the first farmers in the Neolithic, and the Blackhills barrow which was probably built during the Bronze Age, when the first metal tools were being used. In the immediate landscape around Moybologue graveyard, evidence survives of the people who were living here while the church, in its various forms, was in use.
A ringfort once stood a short distance to the east of the graveyard. This was a farmstead dating to the early medieval period, so its residents would have known the early wooden church here. Another, larger ringfort stands on a hilltop in nearby Relaghmore townland. This may have been the home of a local lord or even a king.
Motte located close to Moybologue graveyard
A large, steep-sided mound and some earthen banks in the field to the north of the graveyard are the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle. This was built by the Anglo-Normans shortly after their arrival in Ireland in 1169.
However, folklore claims it to be the burial place of a Milesian king killed in battle at Moybologue in AD 56.
*Please note these sites are on private farmland and cannot be accessed without permission from the owner*
Discover More Heritage Sites Nearby
Moybologue is situated in a beautiful part of the country with many other interesting places to visit. If you are interested in exploring graveyards, Cavan’s Historic Graveyard Network can suggest some more to find. If you enjoy churches we recommend paying a visit to the Cathedral of St Patrick and St Felim (RC) in Cavan town for its impressive architecture and stained glass windows or Kilmore Cathedral (C of I) in its beautiful rural location that includes a medieval motte.
We highly recommend a visit to Cavan County Museum in Ballyjamesduff which displays artefacts spanning over 6000 years of occupation in Cavan and offers the largest World War I trench experience in Ireland or the UK.
The story of the historic town of Nobber can be explored in the Nobber Heritage Centre which is part of the George Eogan Cultural and Heritage Centre. This is housed in the former church of St John's, whose graveyard has lots of interesting features.
If you prefer to stick to the outdoors, there are numerous forest parks with interesting features such as Dun a Rí near Kingscourt, which has connections to the famed warrior Cúchullain and the ruins of Flemings Castle, or Castle Lake Forest at Bailieborough where you will find the ruins of a castle built by the Scottish planter William Bailie.
Across the county border in Meath, a scramble up the hills at Loughcrew will reward the visitor with a much older cemetery of Neolithic passage tombs and excellent views. Nearby you will also find the Loughcrew Estate and Gardens . In the historic town of Kells you can see spectacular high crosses, a round tower, and St Colmcille’s house. While in neighbouring county Monaghan, fans of Irish literature will enjoy a visit to the Patrick Kavanagh Centre in Inniskeen.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed your tour around Moybologue. Since the Classical School went out of use in the 1700s it has been a peaceful oasis in a busy farming landscape and is now cared for as a place that preserves our historical archaeological and natural heritage.
If you would like to see similar StoryMaps from other heritage sites around Ireland please visit abartaheritage.ie .
This StoryMap can be enjoyed as a complement to the Moybologue Church and Graveyard audio guide. You can find a link to this audio guide at the top of this StoryMap. This and other audio guides can also be found on the Abarta Heritage website, or by subscribing to Abarta Heritage on your favourite podcast platform.
View of 18th - 19th century headstones in Moybologue old graveyard
