Derryco

13 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Derryco, from 59 m² to 110,419 m² (11.04 ha, 27.29 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 6 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings; GeoJSON or KML.

No zone of a development plan covers Derryco in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

No planning application touches the townland of Derryco in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

• Special Area of Conservation: Lower River Shannon SAC 002165
• Proposed Natural Heritage Area: Cashen River Estuary 001340

Recorded monuments

• KE009-022 Church
  Description

  Medieval church ruins of Derryco (Doire Chua/ Doire Mochua?) stands in the townland of Derryco, parish of Rattoo, dicoese of Ardfert, barony of Clanmaurice. In 1302 the papal taxation of the Diocese of Ardfert valued the Church of 'De Fyngo' at 6s. 8d. per annum with the tithe valued at 8d. (Cal. doc. Ire., Vol. 5, 296). In 1615 the Royal Visitation of the Diocese of Ardfert recorded the following details; 'Dericoe parsonadg. Houlden by Mr. Stoughton in the right of Rathmore [Rattoo] Abbey [KE009-056004-] as he pretendeth and challenged to belong to the chantorshipp of Ardfert. Valoris 25 shillings' (Murphy 1915, 187) In 1841 the Ordnance Survey described the church ruins at Derryco as follows; 'the ruins of a remotely ancient church, the walls of which are not unlike those of the cahers on the Aran Islands. It was fifty feet [15.2m] in length and twenty-two feet [6.7m] in breadth. Its east gable and twenty five feet [7.6m] of the side walls remain and the foundation of the west gable is traceable. The east window is perfect on the inside, but was disfigured on the outside a short time since to obtain stones for building a tomb within the church; it is semi-circular at the top on the inside and formed out cut sandstone of a brownish colour, and measures eight feet eight inches [2.6m] in height and four feet six inches [1.4m] in width; its dimensions on the outside cannot be determined, but it appears that it was only a few inches in width. At the distance of four feet eight [1.5m] inches from this gable there was another window on the south wall, now destroyed; its width on the inside was four feet six inches [1.4m] and it appears that it was built of the same kind of stone with the east window. The side walls of this church are three feet nine inches [1m] in thickness and about eleven feet [3.3m] in height, and built of blocks of sandstone evidently found on the sea shore, but none like them are to be seen in the immediate vicinity. The cement is very good though the external face of the walls look as if they were in the Cyclopean style. The patron saint of this church is mentioned in the Feilire or Festilogy of Aengus at 6 October, and the church described as in Ráth muighe Tuaiscirt in the country of Ciarraighe Luachra, that is, at Doire Mochua on the brink of the River Fial (now Feale) ' (O'Donovan 1983, 32-3). Derryco church ruins and graveyard described by Toal (1995, no. 936) as follows; 'Derryco Church (in ruins), graveyard (KE009-022001-). This is a small, ivy-clad church, situated in a graveyard. According to local tradition it was once the site of an early monastic settlement (KE009-022002-), although nothing else is known of this early site. The remains of the church consist of the N, S and E wall. The W wall has completely disappeared, so the full dimensions of the church could not be taken. The church measures 6.5m wide internally and the walls are 1m thick. In the remaining 9m of the S wall, 2.6m from the E gable, there is a 2m wide slit window that splays inwards; the top of the window has been destroyed. A narrow slit window which splays inwards exists on the E gable. It displays a simple semi-circular arch over the window. It is 2m high and 0.25m wide on the exterior side expanding to 2.25m high and 0.92m wide internally. A modern buttress has been erected to support the E gable'. In 2011 a graveyard survey carried out by Ann Frykler and Robert Hanbidge of Headland Archaeology Ltd. recorded the following details: 'The graveyard is located on a level flood plain at the southern side of the tidal estuary to the Cashen River which in turn flows into the mouth of the River Shannon. In the immediate vicinity of the graveyard, the land is relatively level and remains so in the lower portions of the Cashen River basin. Beyond this river basin, the surrounding land rises gradually and becomes more undulating with significant rises including Knockanore Mountain, the highest mountain (267m) in North Kerry region, located approximately 6 km to the northeast. Situated within open pasture and considering the surrounding topography, this graveyard is quite open to the elements in all directions. Substantial marshy areas approximately 70m to the north‐west, which partially extend to the south‐west of the graveyard, suggest that the immediate vicinity of the graveyard formed almost an island/promontory within the Cashlan River Estuary. Within the central area of this graveyard [KE009-022001-], is located the ruin of a church [KE009-022----] of which only the north, south and east walls remain. For the most part, the church walls survive in reasonable condition with the addition of a later buttress to the easterner gable providing additional support. The church ruin is in reasonable condition with only the north, south and east walls remaining. The west wall has completely disappeared, so the full dimensions of the church could not be recorded. The church is orientated on an east/west axis. From what remains, the church had a minimum length of 9.6 m and measured 6.6 m wide (internally). The walls measured c. 1.15 m wide and consist of roughly dressed rubblestone with a lime and gravel mortar. Maintenance work to the western termini of the north and south walls has resulted in unusual bowed terminals. A later addition of a rubblestone buttress to the east adds support to the east elevation of the church. The partially ruinous steep pitched wall that forms the east elevation indicates that the church once had a pitched roof. Within the walls, two narrow windows survive, one to the east end of the south elevation and the second centrally located within the east elevation. Both windows are splayed to the internal elevations with roughly dressed rubblestone forming the internal reveals and sills. The top of the southern window has been destroyed as the southern wall only exists to the impost level of this window. The eastern window survives in greater condition featuring dressed rubblestone surrounds and displays a more modest round‐headed arch at the top (partially hidden by ivy). Within the church, there are a number of burials which have caused the floor surface to rise very slightly in comparison to the exterior. The oldest inscribed burial (Grave No. 50) in the graveyard is located inside the church. Two square‐headed recesses are located flanking the eastern window at sill level to the interior of the east elevation. third interior recess is located in the east corner of the south elevation directly above the top of Grave No. 50. The location of such a recess in the eastern corner of nave is interesting as similar recesses are often associated with the presence of a piscine which is often located below the recess. However the presence of Grave No. 50 in the eastern corner of the church blocks off any access to investigate if a piscina is present or not. There are no other visible features identifiable within the church ruin. However excessive overgrowth, especially ivy, has completely covered the northern and eastern walls particularly to the exterior of the east elevation. Ivy growth is present on the southern wall, although its growth has been recently curtailed' (Hanbidge 2011, 13). See attached plan of church and graveyard courtesy of Robert Hanbidge Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 9 June 2022

• KE009-022001 Graveyard
  Description

  Church and graveyard described by Toal (1995, no. 936) as follows; 'Derryco Church (in ruins) (KE009-022----), graveyard (KE009-022001-). According to local tradition it was once the site of an early monastic settlement (KE009-022002-), although nothing else is known of this early site'. In 2011 a graveyard survey carried out by Ann Frykler and Robert Hanbidge of Headland Archaeology Ltd. recorded the following details: 'The graveyard is located on a level flood plain at the southern side of the tidal estuary to the Cashen River which in turn flows into the mouth of the River Shannon. In the immediate vicinity of the graveyard, the land is relatively level and remains so in the lower portions of the Cashen River basin. Beyond this river basin, the surrounding land rises gradually and becomes more undulating with significant rises including Knockanore Mountain, the highest mountain (267m) in North Kerry region, located approximately 6 km to the northeast. Situated within open pasture and considering the surrounding topography, this graveyard is quite open to the elements in all directions. Some shelter is provided to the south of the graveyard from a hedgerow that forms one of the surrounding field boundaries. Substantial marshy areas approximately 70m to the north‐west, which partially extend to the south‐west of the graveyard, suggest that the immediate vicinity of the graveyard formed almost an island/promontory within the Cashlan River Estuary. Within the central area of this graveyard, is located the ruin of a church [KE009-022----] of which only the north, south and east walls remain. For the most part, the church walls survive in reasonable condition with the addition of a later buttress to the easterner gable providing additional support. The graveyard is rectangular in plan and is enclosed to the north, east and west by rubblestone walls with rubble stone coping. Enclosing the graveyard to the south is a field boundary consisting of rubblestone faced earthen bank surmounted by a hedgerow. The primary entrance to the graveyard is to the east and consists of a pair of overgrown square‐profile dressed limestone gate piers which support a later single‐leaf wrought‐iron gate. Flanking the entrance to the south is a stone stile which comprises of a number of stones projecting from the wall to form steps on both the east and west elevations of the boundary wall. The graveyard is enclosed by mortared rubblestone walls using locally sourced sandstone and limestone. Surmounting the wall is rubblestone coping. For the most part the north, east and west enclosing walls remain in good condition with the exception of a few small areas where some stones are missing from the coping. However much of these walls are overgrown with ivy which could be covering other defects within the wall. The boundary wall to the south differs to that elsewhere in that it consists of drystone facing to an earthen bank surmounted by a hedgerow. This boundary is quite overgrown with grass and shrub growth with only small patches of the drystone facing visible. There is only pedestrian access to this graveyard from the car park area to the east. The entrance comprises of a pair of square‐profile dressed limestone gate piers with rubblestone coping and a recent single‐leaf wrought‐iron gate. Both piers appear in good condition but are unfortunately completely covered by ivy. Seven tombs were represented within Derryco graveyard, of which six were named (Grave Nos. 15, 21, 45, 46, 49 & 50) and are located in and around the church ruin. single unnamed tomb (Grave No. 47) was located immediately to the south of the named tomb (Grave No. 46). The tomb has a rectangular shape in plan and is constructed in tooled limestone. There are 37 inscribed headstones and plots within the graveyard and most of these are in good condition. The majority of the graves date to the 20th century, however there are more recent graves from the 21st century e.g. Grave No. 6 is the latest dating from the 13th of February 2011 and is located in the eastern portion of the graveyard. There are 2 unnamed plots at Derryco Burial Ground (Grave Nos. 43 & 55). One named gravemarker (Grave No. 51) was recorded within the graveyard. This modest gravemarker was located to the interior of the church ruin adjacent the east elevation and consisted of a wooden cross with a brass mounted plaque. Ten unnamed gravemarkers (Grave Nos. 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 19, 20, 23, 24 & 54) were recorded. The gravemarkers consisted of a simple natural local stone being placed in the ground e.g. grave no. 4. There are possibly many unmarked graves within the burial ground which is supported by the exposing of human bones to the sprayed areas parallel to the northern boundary wall' (Hanbidge 2011, 5-12). See attached plan of church and graveyard courtesy of Robert Hanbidge Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 9 June 2022

• KE009-022002 Ecclesiastical enclosure
  Description

  Derryco Church (in ruins) (KE009-022----), graveyard (KE009-022001-). According to local tradition it was once the site of an early monastic settlement (KE009-022002-), although nothing else is known of this early site. The above description is derived from C. Toal, ‘North Kerry Archaeological Survey’. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority (1995), no. 936. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 20 August 2013

• KE009-022003 Bullaun stone
  Description

  In 2011 a graveyard survey carried out by Ann Frykler and Robert Hanbidge of Headland Archaeology Ltd. recorded the following details: 'An unrecorded font/bullaun stone was found immediately to the north of the north elevation of the church ruins [KE009-022----] beside Grave No. 55. The font/bullaun is located close to the western edge of a large irregular‐shaped boulder and has a diameter of approximately 25 cm and a depth of c. 8 cm. The boulder appears to have been moved to its current location so the original providence is unknown this position' (Hanbidge 2011, 14). See attached plan of church and graveyard courtesy of Robert Hanbidge Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 9 June 2022

• KE009-023 Enclosure
  Description

  Situated SE of Derryco Church (KE009-022----), this enclosure has been cut on the W side by a bohareen and on the N side by a fieldbank. The enclosing earthen bank of this site is well defined and rises to .5m above the interior. The exterior side has a stepped effect and rises to a maximum of 1.3m above the surrounding land. The internal diameter of this site is c 27m N-S. The above description is derived from C. Toal, ‘North Kerry Archaeological Survey’. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority (1995), no. 1041. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 3 August 2013

Architectural heritage

• House, 1850–1890 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached five-bay single-storey thatched house, built c. 1870, now disused and derelict. Pitched reed thatch roof with rendered and brick chimneystacks. Exposed squared rubble stone walls, rendered to gables and rear walls. Timber two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows with painted stone sills. Timber doors. Retaining interior features. Attached six-bay single-storey rubble stone-built outbuilding, built c. 1870, at right angles to west with corrugated-iron roof.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Radon

About 1 in 20 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

Susceptibility low, low (inferred), on the 1:50,000 map.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Derryco.

Flooding

The flood maps of the Office of Public Works: floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency; Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland; both CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

No address of the register names Derryco with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Kerry.

Name

Derryco · Doire Cua

Area

721,414 m² (72.14 ha, 178.27 acres)

Civil parish

Rattoo, and its townlands

Barony

Clanmaurice

Electoral division

Ballyduff, the unit of the census

Census 2022

Ballyduff electoral division: 846 people in 333 households; 79% of households own their home; 22% of homes were built since 2001; 15% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 5% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Ardcullen, Ardcullen-Marshes, Ayle

Placenames

Derryco on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address; old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.