| St. Mary's Collegiate Church | |
|---|---|
Eaglais Mhuire | |
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| General information | |
| Type | Collegiate Church |
| Location | Gowran, County Kilkenny, Ireland |
| Address | Main St. Gowran, County Kilkenny, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°37′45″N 7°03′48″W / 52.62917°N 7.06333°W |
| Construction started | 1225 |
| Reference no. | 214 |
| References | |
| [1] [2][3] | |
St. Mary’s Collegiate Church Gowran (Irish: Eaglais Mhuire), also known as the Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Assumption, is a church in the centre of the town of Gowran, County Kilkenny, Ireland. The site is a National Monument in the care of the Gowran Development Association (GDA)[4] and the Office of Public Works (OPW). The church and its family connections have been of huge importance to Gowran and further afield over the centuries. The church is a collegiate church, which means that the priests or chaplains attached to it lived in community together. The present church was not a monastery or an abbey; however experts believe the church was built on the site of an earlier monastery. The presence of an Ogham stone on the site, which is on display in the chancel, suggests there was a place of worship here dating back 2000 years to Celtic times or beyond.
- ^ The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory. Vol 1. Rev. Canon William Carrigan 1905
- ^ A History of St. Mary’s Church. Text by Imelda Kehoe. Published by the Gowran Development Association 1992
- ^ The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory. Vol 3. Rev. Canon William Carrigan 1905
- ^ Life Through our Viewfinder. Published by Dalton House Gowran 2009