Kilmallock

Collegiate Church

The Collegiate Church at Kilmallock was built in 1251, on what was probably the site of an earlier monastery. The original monastery may have been established by St Mocheallóg from whom the town got its name. The church was served by a college of clerics rather than monks. In the northwest corner of the nave is a tower which incorporates the stump of a round tower from the early monastery. The church which is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul consisted of a nave and chancel with a south transept. The nave and transept were substantially altered in 1420 by Maurice Fitzgerald.

Looking east towards the chancel

South transept

The south transept was closed to the public during my visit. It contains several medieval tomb chests. The images above were taken from the information boards on site. The image extreme left features a small cadaver carved on the top of the Fitzgerald Tomb. The cadaver is below the right foot of a skeleton, a memento mori figure. The front of this tomb bears the Fitzgerald coat of arms. Next to it is an image from the Verdon Tomb, which was erected by Walter Coppinger in 1627, to commemorate Sir John Verdon and his wife Lady Alison Haly. There was a connection, through marriage, between the Haly family and the Coppinger family. The next drawing is from another Verdon Tomb and bears the Verdon coat of arms. The final image is a detail of two effigies on the first Verdon Tomb. They represent Sir John, a Knight of the Golden Spur-Equas Auratus, and Lady Alison. You can see a golden spur in the detail. The church was partly destroyed by Cromwells troops. It stands in a small well kept graveyard in the centre of the town.