Kilteale

Kilteale Church lies 1 km from the Anglo Norman fortress on the Rock of Dunamase, and may have been the site of the parish church for the settlement around the Rock written about in the 13th and 14th centuries as the “Newtown of Leys” (though historians disagree about the exact site of this town, it may have been at Dunamase or at Lea Castle near Portarlington).

The arch in the East gable had become precarious in 2019 and the local community approached Laois County Council for assistance. Masonry conservation to the arch and walls was carried out by Sheen Stoneworks in 2019, with funding from the Portarlington-Graiguecullen Municipal District and the assistance of Cllr Tom Mulhall . The archaeologist was Colm Flynn and the engineer was David Kelly Partnership. The stonemason was Jethro Sheen.

Conservation of Kilteale Ruined Church underway. Cllr Tom Mulhall, Catherine Casey, Laois Heritage officer and Archaeologist Colm Flynn with members of the Kilteale Cemetery committee Gerry Baldwin and Christina Casey.
Picture: Alf Harvey.