Pollnacroaghy

Area

2,264 m² (0.23 ha, 0.56 acres)

Buildings

3 buildings touch it, 648 m² on the ground

Zoning

M2 Town Centre (Mayo County Development Plan 2022-2028) The objective
G5 Recreation & Amenity (Mayo County Development Plan 2022-2028) The objective

Townland

Pollnacroaghy

Planning applications on this parcel

No planning application touches this parcel 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

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 7 recorded monuments.

• MA093-063001 Earthwork
  Description

  Associated with Ballyhaunis Augustinian friary (MA093-063002-). In the early 1900’s Knox (1911, 334-336) recorded a series interlocking rectangular enclosures immediately to N, E and S of the friary church, which he thought might preserve the outline of earthworks or ‘baileys’ associated with an Anglo-Norman manor house (MA093-063003-) on whose foundations the abbey was traditionally said to have been built. The rectangular plots were defined by slight ditches, banks and scarps, in parts barely discernible. He gives dimensions of c. 43m N−S by 41m E−W for the plot immediately to S of the church. This plot and adjoining rectangular plots immediately to S and E were already in use as a graveyard (MA093-063004-) at that time, and still serve as such. Modern development has obliterated the outline of the rectangular plots Knox recorded to E and N of the church. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 6 July 2022

• MA093-063002 Religious house - Augustinian friars
  Description

  On a hill to the SE of the Ballyhaunis town. The Dalgan River skirts the base of the hill at N and W and a tributary stream borders the E side of the hill. It is in the townland of Friarsground, adjoined at S by the townland of Abbeyquarter, which may reflect the extent of the friary’s original precinct and possessions According to the local tradition, the friary was established in 1348 by a descendant of Jordan Dubh MacCostello, who was killed in battle in 1367 and buried in the church. However, the first medieval reference to the friary is a 1432 entry in the Register of the Order’s Prior General, which mentions a friar Philip Nangle (Martin and de Meijer 1956, 87); F. X. Martin (1956, 364), historian of the order, therefore suggests a foundation date of c. 1430. According to a tradition first recorded in the late 1600’s, the friary was founded on the site of a manor house (MA093-063003-) of the Anglo-Norman de Barry family (Flanagan 1927, 162 (394)), and Knox (1911, 334-336) speculated that earthworks (MA093-063001-) surrounding the friary church might date from that period; no evidence has been found to corroborate this. In 1570 the friary was granted to the Earl of Clanricarde (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 296) but the friars remained in place, and in 1585 the authorities were informed that it was ‘possessed by friars or rebels’ (Brewer and Bullen 1870, 474). In 1649 it was burned down by Cromwellian soldiers (Waldron 1995, 3). In the late 1730’s Bernard O’Gara, Archbishop of Tuam established a Penal chapel in the ruined church, concealed behind the steep roofless gable-end. The friary remains consist of the heavily restored abbey church; the cloister, domestic ranges and ancillary buildings, which probably lay to the N of the church, do not survive. The church was repaired, reroofed and extended in successive phases during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, we have some idea of what it looked like in the late Middle Ages thanks to an 18th century drawing by Thomas Cocking (in Grose 1791, 40), and a series of late19th-/early 20th-century photographs (The Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). Knox (1911, 335) describes the church as 90 feet long and 30 feet wide (c. 24m E–W; 9m N–S), which roughly corresponds to the dimensions of the main body of the restored church, while elsewhere (1908, 95) he mentions it had ‘a chapel at the W end opening into the [south] wall of the nave’. From Cocking’s drawing and the early photographs, it appears that the chapel to the S of the nave comprised of two structures, built of roughly coursed rubble masonry, each with their own gable, suggesting a similar plan to the Franciscan friary of Ross Errilly in Co. Galway (GA041-047----). In 1936-39, these two chapels were replaced by a lateral aisle as long and wide as the main body of the church, with its own gabled roof (Waldron 1995, 6). During the work, the foundations of three more side chapels were found to the S of the church (O’Connor 1983). Cocking’s drawing also shows buildings to the N of the church, including what may have been remains of the E range, and a three-storey late 17th- or 18th-century building where the N range would have been; these do not survive. Some medieval architectural features are still visible in the restored church. Cocking’s drawing and the pre-1930s restoration photographs confirm that the W doorway and the two ogee-headed windows in the W gable of the lateral aisle are original. The 15th-century W doorway is pointed, with four recessed orders or moulded arches that continue down into the door jambs, and has a pointed hood-moulding decorated with crockets and a short crocketted pinnacle at the apex. It is flanked by two more crocketted pinnacles. The southern-most stop of the hood-moulding terminates in a low-relief vine-leaf carving. The base of each jamb is decorated with foliage motifs. The tracery below the arch is, however, a reconstruction. The doorway is similar in style to doorways in the Augustinian friaries of Ardnaree (MA030-074001-) and Dunmore (GA017-005001-). Of the two windows in the W gable of the lateral aisle, both ogee-headed double-lights with square hood-mouldings, only the south window is in its original location. Low-relief carvings of stylised foliage embellish the ogee, spandrels, mullion and sides. Cocking’s drawing shows that the other window was taken from the gable of the south chapel and inserted here. It has concave spandrels and its hood-moulding terminate into an unusual carving. Another displaced 15th-century window is on display outside the church, leaning against the N wall at the W end of the nave; it is not known from which portion of the original church this was taken. It is a double-light with cinquefoil heads under a pointed arch with decorated tracery, and a pointed hood-moulding. The three windows in the N wall of the church are similar in style, but it is unclear whether they are medieval or modern reconstructions. It is also uncertain if the E window is the original 15th-century window; it is a triple light with flowing tracery, the two lateral lights having pointed cinquefoil heads while the central light has an ogee-headed cinquefoil. Externally it has a simple pointed hood with short square stops. Cocking’s drawing shows the upper part of the E window with decorated tracery similar to that of the current window. The restored church of St Mary’s Augustinian friary is still in use. The Augustinians left Ballyhaunis in 2002 and the property comprising the priory, church, cemetery and fourteen acres of land, is now managed by The Abbey Partnership on behalf of the community Compiled by: Anne-Julie Lafaye and Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 6 July 2022

• MA093-063003 House - indeterminate date
  Description

  The 1838 OS Letters record a tradition first noted in the 17th century that the Augustinian Friary (MA093-063002-) of Ballyhaunis was founded on the site of ‘a manor house of the Lord Barry, about the beginning of the English Invasion.’ (O’Flanagan 1927, 162 (394)). No convincing evidence has been found to corroborate this. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 6 July 2022

• MA093-063004 Graveyard
  Description

  Occupies elevated ground, immediately S of Ballyhaunis friary church (MA093-063002-). L-shaped area (c. 70m N−S; c. 81m E−W at N; c. 45m E-W at S) bordered at E and S by field fences and a line of trees, and at W by a steep scarp which drops to the entrance avenue to the abbey. The N portion of the graveyard encompasses relatively level ground but the S third slopes steeply down to S. The graveyard is grass-covered, with a network of gravel paths winding through it. There is high density of graves. The majority are marked by inscribed headstones in a variety of styles, including ‘Celtic crosses’, dating to the period 18th to 20th century. Some grave plots are bordered by a low concrete surround, and a few have metal railings. There are a several ledgers in the E part of the graveyard. Interspersed amidst the formal headstones are a few small uninscribed stone gravemarkers, roughly-shaped to the form of a cross, and occasional simple metal crosses. Knox (1911, 334-336) postulated that the graveyard overlies or incorporates earthworks (MA093-063001-) that might pre-date the friary. Attached images: MA093-063004-_01.JPG Graveyard viewed form SE MA093-063004-_02.JPG Simple stone cross gravemarker MA093-063004-_03.JPG Steep S slope of graveyard MA093-063004-_04.JPG Ledgers in the E part of the graveyard Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 7 December 2022

• MA093-063005 Tomb - unclassified
  Description

  In a small side room/porch in Ballyhaunis friary church (MA093-063002-). This tomb or altar dated 1739 was commissioned by Archbishop Bernard O’Gara, of Tuam, grandson of Fergal, the patron of the Four Masters, as a memorial for his father and his family. The limestone tomb (overall H 1.46m) consists a horizontal table or upper element (L 1.38m; Wth 0.87m; H 0.31m), which oversails a square block (L 0.96m; Wth 0.63m; H 0.56m), with a dedication inscribed on one face, which in turn rests on a moulded pedestal (H 0.31m), The finely carved six line inscription reads: Pray for Y souls of Charlis O Gara and Fa mily for whom this Tomb was made by his Son Ber. Ar. Of Tuam AN. DM. 1739 Centrally positioned above the inscription are the letters I H S. A simple cross rises from the centre of the letter H, and is flanked by the letters INRI. These are incorporated into a decorative band (Wth 0.1-0.12m) of simple scroll motif which surrounds the dedication. The tomb was used as an altar in a thatched Penal chapel that Archbishop O’Gara established in the friary church, concealed behind the tall roofless gable of the ruined church (MacLeod 1947, 132). Attached images: MA093-063005-_01.JPG Tomb/altar MA093-063005-_02.JPG Detail of inscription Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 7 December 2022

• MA093-063006 Cross
  Description

  In a small side room/porch in Ballyhaunis friary church (MA093-063002-). Limestone cross bearing a relief carving of the crucified Christ, which fills almost the full width and length of the cross. Cross (H 0.89m; Wth across arms 0.65m); arms of cross (H 12cm); shaft (Wth 13cm; D 5-6cm) Christ is depicted in death; eyes closed, mouth drooping and head slumped on his right shoulder. His beard and hair are delineated by a series of fine linear grooves; both are long, the hair draping over his shoulders. A twisted crown of thorns rests on his head. His body is quite finely moulded in high relief (rising 3-4cm above the surface of the cross), with a hint of the curves of elbow and knee joints. The outstretched arms dip slightly under the weight of the body. Both hands are in the ‘blessing’ position, with the index and second fingers pointing and the other two fingers folded inwards. A nail pierces each hand. The loin cloth has three gentle horizontal folds and one longer fold falling to the right side. The feet overlap, right over left, and are pierced by a single square-topped nail. INR is carved in false relief above Christ’s head at the top of the cross. This cross most likely dates to the Penal Era, late 16th to 18th century. Attached images: MA093-063006-_01.JPG Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 7 December 2022

• MA093-063007 Crucifixion plaque
  Description

  In a small side room/porch in Ballyhaunis friary church (MA093-063002-). Roughly rectangular limestone slab (H 0.76m; Wth 0.41, narrowing to 0.16m at top; T 0.07m) on which the crucified Christ is carved. The stone narrows at top to an almost triangular apex. The surface is roughly dressed, and the carving, executed in a naïve style, is in low or false relief. Christ’s body (H 0.56m) appears to conceal the shaft of the cross, which is not depicted. The horizontal bar of the cross is however visible, and Christ’s arms span its full width, hanging in a deep V-shape, the palm of each hand pieced by a nail. The eye is drawn to Christ’s head which is boldly carved. It is erect, with just a hint of a tilt to his right. The face is oval, ringed by strongly marked short radiating grooves, representing waves of hair or possibly the crown of thorns; the beard is delineated by a series of fine linear grooves and does not include a moustache. Three short curving grooves radiate from the left side of the head –possibly representing hair. The simple facial features comprise round eyes, a long straight nose and a deep horizontal groove for a mouth. Three horizontal bars indicated the loin cloth. The feet are set vertically, positioned side by side rather than overlapping. They reach the very base of the slab, and may be incomplete; at any rate, the toes and nail are not clear. The style of carving suggests that this slab dates to the Penal Era. Attached images: MA093-063007-_01.JPG Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 7 December 2022

Architectural heritage

• House, 1840–1893 · Regional interest
  Description

  Terraced five-bay three-storey house, extant 1893, with shopfront to right ground floor. Refenestrated. Pitched slate roof with roll moulded clay ridge tiles terminating in rendered chimney stacks centred on rendered chimney stack having "Cavetto" stringcourse below capping supporting yellow terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves retaining cast-iron square profile downpipe. Rendered channelled wall (ground floor) with moulded rendered cornice on blind frieze; rendered surface finish (upper floors) with rusticated rendered piers to ends. Timber shopfront to right ground floor on a symmetrical plan with glazed timber panelled double doors. Square-headed window openings (upper floors) with rendered sill course (first floor) or rendered sills (top floor), and rendered block-and-start surrounds framing replacement uPVC casement windows replacing one-over-one timber sash windows. Interior including (upper floors): timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors with timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters. Street fronted with stone flagged footpath to front.

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).

Ground and risks

Radon

About 1 in 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

Susceptibility low, on the 1:50,000 map; parts are made ground.

Terrain model

LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_828 (ZIP).

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.

Download this parcel: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program; GeoJSON, in WGS 84, for a map; KML, for Google Earth.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.