Kilross

67 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Kilross, from 115 m² to 123,315 m² (12.33 ha, 30.47 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary. 34 neighbouring parcels touch it.

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

No zone of a development plan covers Kilross 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.

• 9 Oct 2025Conditional

  1. Construction of a new 413sqm stable building including 5 no. stables, foaling pen, indoor lunging area, manure storage bund and soiled water storage tank 2. Construction of an outdoor sand arena 3. All associated site development works

  Permission · Sligo County Council, 2560417

• 29 Jul 2022Conditional

  development consisting of the following: provision of an alternative entrance to serve existing dwelling house, new parking area, all ancillary site works including landscaping and closure of existing entrance

  Permission · Sligo County Council, 22260

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 the townland of Kilross.

Recorded monuments

• SL021-047 Ringfort - cashel
  Description

  In pasture broken by limestone outcrops, on a low rise. A roughly circular area (c. 20m E-W; 22m N-S) utilising a natural rise, defined NW-NE by a low moss-covered stony rise (Wth c. 4m), NE-SE by a barely discernible moss-covered stony rise and SSE-W by a stone-strewn scarp (H 1.55m). The interior is level but the surface is uneven with small hummocks of moss-covered stone. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008

• SL021-055001 Bullaun stone
  Description

  In 1836 'two holy water pots (fonts)' (see SL021-055002-), one of which was built into the road, were recorded in Kilross townland (OSNB no. 2, 246). These were indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map and named 'Fonts', c. 80m W of Kilross Church (SL021-056001-). The area is covered with overgrowth and they were not located. Wood-Martin (1882 vol. 3, 352) mentioned that two wells in this area were marked by 'two large rocks, one of them sculptured, and called the "holy-water stone"...' The precise nature of these 'holy water pots' is uncertain, and the possibility that these were bullaun stones cannot be excluded. Compiled by: Archaeological Survey Unit, UCC with revisions by Patrick F. O'Donovan and Paul Walsh Date of upload: 20 June 2011

• SL021-055002 Bullaun stone
  Description

  In 1836 'two holy water pots (fonts)' (see SL021-055002-), one of which was built into the road, were recorded in Kilross townland (OSNB no. 2, 246). These were indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map and named 'Fonts', c. 80m W of Kilross Church (SL021-056001-). The area is covered with overgrowth and they were not located. Wood-Martin (1882 vol. 3, 352) mentioned that two wells in this area were marked by 'two large rocks, one of them sculptured, and called the "holy-water stone"...' The precise nature of these 'holy water pots' is uncertain, and the possibility that these were bullaun stones cannot be excluded. Compiled by: Archaeological Survey Unit, UCC with revisions by Patrick F. O'Donovan and Paul Walsh Date of upload: 20 June 2011

• SL021-056001 Church
  Description

  In undulating marshy terrain, on the N side of a road, in the NW corner of Kilross graveyard (SL021-056002-). Only the SW corner of the church stands (int. 4.95m E-W; 2.8m N-S). This is built of mortared roughly coursed limestone. Along the internal face of the W wall is the springing line of a wicker-centred vault which covered a ground-floor apartment at the W end of the church. A window lighting this area survives in the S wall, and has a splayed and lintelled embrasure and a single flat-headed light. At first-floor level part of W side of another window embrasure survives. This is the remains of the late medieval parish church of Kilross (O'Rorke [1889], vol. 2, 247; M. A. Timoney 2002b, 57). A road (SL021-057----) lies c. 100m to the S. In 1836 'two holy water pots (fonts)' (SL021-055001-, SL021-055002-) were recorded in this townland (OSNB vol. 2, 246); these were probably the two 'Fonts' indicated and named on the 1838 OS 6-inch map, c. 80m to the W. This area is covered with scrub overgrowth and these features could not be located. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Attached images: SL021-056001-_01.JPG SW corner -exterior SL021-056001-_02.JPG Interior -showing window and wicker-centred vault, viewed from NE Date of upload: 18 January 2008

• SL021-056002 Graveyard
  Description

  A rectangular graveyard (c. 50m E-W; c. 30m N-S) enclosed by a low repointed stone wall. It is entered through a gateway, with plain limestone piers and a wrought iron gate, in the S wall. In the NW corner are the fragmentary remains of Kilross parish church (SL021-056001-). Most of the headstones are of 19th- and 20th-century date but the earliest noted was dated 1721. There are also a number of low uninscribed grave-markers, six chest-tombs and a number of recumbent slabs. The most notable plot is a 19th-century walled enclosure, with three memorials to the Ormsbys of Castledargan, which overlies the line of the S wall of the church. There are no visible remains of the foundations of a possible building (noted by M. B. Timoney, pers. comm.) (SL021-056004-) to the ESE of the church. Three quernstones (SL021-056003-) have been found in the graveyard, two of which are in the NMI. A road (SL021-057----) lies c. 100m to the S. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Attached images: SL021-056002-_01.JPG Viewed from SE SL021-056002-_02.JPG Viewed from NW SL021-056002-_03.JPG 19th-century headstone, with box tomb and church (SL021-056001-) in background SL021-056002-_04.JPG Detail of 19th-century headstone SL021-056002-_05.JPG Detail of headstone Date of upload: 18 January 2008

• SL021-056004 Building
  Description

  Rectangular foundations of a building are to ESE of the church (SL021-056001-) and E of the Ormsby plot in the graveyard (SL021-056002-) (pers. comm. Mary Timoney September 2003). Compiled by: Archaeological Survey Unit, UCC with revisions by Patrick F. O'Donovan and Paul Walsh Date of upload: 20 June 2011

• SL021-105001 Pillar stone
  Description

  One of two pillar stones (see SL021-105002-) recorded in the vicinity of Kilross church and graveyard (SL021-056001-, SL021-056002-). These stones were not located. Compiled by: Archaeological Survey Unit, UCC with revisions by Patrick F. O'Donovan and Paul Walsh Date of upload: 20 June 2011

• SL021-105002 Pillar stone
  Description

  One of two pillar stones (see SL021-105001-) recorded in the vicinity of Kilross church and graveyard (SL021-056001-, SL021-056002-). These stones were not located. Compiled by: Archaeological Survey Unit, UCC with revisions by Patrick F. O'Donovan and Paul Walsh Date of upload: 20 June 2011

• SL021-106 Sweathouse
  Description

  Listed in both the SMR (1989) and the RMP (1995) and classified 'Sweathouse'. Not shown on any edition of the OS 6-inch map. In poorly drained pasture, at the base of a gentle N-facing slope. The remains consist of a semicircular depression (diam. c. 3.3m; D 0.7m) lined with stones. There is a modern field drain to NE and a field boundary to E. This is probably post-1700 AD in date. Compiled by: Archaeological Survey Unit, UCC Date of upload: 13 December 2011

• SL021-214 Cross
  Description

  Located in a pasture field, on the E-facing slope of a small hillock, 100m W of Kilross church (SL021-056001-) and graveyard (SL021-056002-). There is a stream 30m to E. This medieval cross, of unusual and striking design, lay on its side partly buried in the ground, its sculpted features concealed, until it was uncovered and set upright in August 2018. It consists of a massive rectangular sandstone block (total H c. 1.4m; Wth 0.65m; T 0.49m), sculpted with short protruding arms to create the effect of a cross. The stubby arms (projecting Wth 0.16m; H 0.17m; L 0.34m) are rectangular in shape, and disproportionally small relative to the bulk of the stone. They protrude 0.16m from the narrow sides of the stone, 0.24m below the top. They are flush with the NE face of the stone, separated only by a slight dressed indentation. They do not, however, extend across the full thickness of the stone, ending 0.15-0.16m short of the SW face. The arm on the SE side is somewhat rougher in form, possibly at least partly as a result of weathering. On the broad NE face of the stone, there is an incised outline of a double-line Greek cross (H c. 53m; Wth 0.52m) with a square centre and expanded rectangular terminals; the design is now partly eroded. The incised cross fills most of the space on the top half of this side, with its horizontal arms, which span almost the full width of the stone, in line with the protruding stone arms. High on the opposite (SW) side, an oval sculpted protrusion (H 0.21; Wth 0.19m) stands 0.08-0.1m proud of the stone surface. This represents a human head, but its surface is now rough and abraded, with no clearly defined facial features evident. The two corners at the top of the stone, on either side of the head, have each been cut back to a broad sloping angle, which serves to accentuate the 3-dimensional form of the head. The position of the head, relative to the stone arms of the cross, appears to reference the crucified Christ. Lower on the same side, 0.95m below the top, a horizontal moulded band (H 0.1m) extends across the width of the stone; it is evident as a shallow, double shelf, protruding c. 0.05m from the stone surface. This provides a decorative base to the cross, below which it is likely to have been embedded in the ground or set in some supportive structure. A rectangular, vertical-sided, flat-based slot or socket (L 0.3m; Wth 0.11m; D 0.13m) is cut into the flat top of the block. The upper edge of each long side is slightly splayed. This socket is likely to have held another element of the cross, now lost: possibly a sculpted stone cap or another smaller cross of stone or even wood. A number of very small hemispherical pits or hollows (max. diam. 0.02-0.03m; D 0.015-0.02m) can be seen on the NE side of the stone, above and to the side of the incised cross. Some are surrounded by a slight discoloration oF the stone surface. The nature of these holes is as yet uncertain. Shallow, narrow fissures or indentations, part of the natural fabric of the stone, are evident on all sides. Two pronounced fissures/cracks on the NE side extend from close to the base of the stone obliquely across the surface, and intrude on the lower part of the incised cross. The history of the cross -where it stood originally and how long it was buried at its current location- is uncertain. In the mid-1800’s the OS name books recorded ‘two stones, holy water pots (fonts), one is built in the road’ (SL021-055001-; SL021-055002-) (OSNB no. 2, 246); they were indicated on the 1837 OS 6-inch map as ‘Fonts’, located in the field boundary on the S side of this field, a few meters from the current position of the cross. Later in the 19th century, Wood-Martin (1882, 352), recorded the following local tradition: ‘The church and burial-ground at Kilross were reputed to have been formerly situated on the opposite side of the rivulet which flows near them. One night, in council assembled, the occupants of the graveyard came to the conclusion that they were too tightly packed, and next morning the church and church-yard were found transported to their present position. The two wells, however, which were in the old burying-ground remained in their original position, and two large rocks, one of them sculptured, and called the "holy-water stone" mark the site of these “fonts”.’ Wood-martin’s large ‘sculptured’ rock may have been a bullaun stone, but it may well have been this cross: the socket on the upper surface naturally fills with water, and could have been interpreted locally as a 'holy water stone'. In light of the discovery of the cross, the legend of the changed location of the church and graveyard is interesting, and may reflect a folk memory of an ecclesiastical site which was older and more extensive than the current church remains suggest. In the 1980’s two 'pillar stones' (SL021-105001-; SL021-105002-) were noted lying on, or embedded in, the ground in this general area; one of these may have been the buried cross. Attached images: SL021-214----_01.JPG: Incised cross on NE face SL021-214----_02.JPG: Incised cross on NE face SL021-214----_03.JPG: Incised cross on NE face SL021-214----_04.JPG: Sculpted head on SW face; band of moulding at base of stone SL021-214----_05.JPG: SW face, viewed from W SL021-214----_06.JPG: SE side SL021-214----_07.JPG: NW side SL021-214----_08.JPG: Socket on top of stone cross, viewed from NW SL021-214----_09.JPG: Socket on top of stone cross, viewed from NE This following 3-D images are courtesy of Martin Duffy, IRC Gov. of Ireland Postgraduate Scholar, UCD: SL021-214----_010.JPG: 3-D image of NE side. SL021-214----_011.JPG: 3-D image of SW side. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 29 August 2018

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands in the townland of Kilross.

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

At the centre of the townland of Kilross, about 1 in 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as high, moderately high, moderately low, low, partly inferred.

Terrain model

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

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under 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 Kilross with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Sligo.

Name

Kilross · Cill Ros

Area

844,596 m² (84.46 ha, 208.7 acres)

Civil parish

Kilross, and its townlands

Barony

Tirerrill

Electoral division

Ballintogher West, the unit of the census

Census 2022

457 people lived in 148 households in the Ballintogher West electoral division. 93% of households owned their home. 29% of homes were built since 2001. 13% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 3% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Arnasbrack, Carricknagat, Cartrontaylor, Castledargan, Doonamurray, Knockatober

Placenames

Kilross 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.