St. Mary's Church, Castlemartin
St. Mary's Church, Castlemartin, located in the broad Kilcullen area of County Kildare, Ireland, is the first medieval church in Ireland to have been restored to full working order. The small stone Roman Catholic church, with accompanying burial ground, lies within Castlemartin Estate, which belongs to media magnate Tony O'Reilly; O'Reilly paid for the restoration in 1979–1980, after which the church was reconsecrated in August 1981 by Archbishop Dermot Ryan. There has been a church on this site for over 800 years.
Details of the church's history are limited but it is recorded in church documents and has been the subject of a number of articles – including by Major General Sir Eustace F. Tickell, Lord Walter Fitzgerald, Brewer, Meagher and a correspondent to Beauford's Anthologia Hibernica magazine (who also supplied drawings) – and of a booklet.
There is mention of a chapel at Castlemartin in a 1202 entry in the Calendar of Deeds of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, when Richard, Lord of Castlemartyn granted it to the cathedral. A later entry reaffirms the grant, along with 7 acres (28,000 m2) of land.
The current church was constructed in the late 15th century, as place of worship for Sir Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester and his family; Sir Rowland was appointed as Treasurer of Ireland in 1461, and Chancellor in 1472, and his daughter, Alison married into the Fitzgerald family. Tony O'Reilly, based on research he commissioned, mentioned a possible construction date around 1490.
The chapel is mentioned in the Calendar of Christ Church Deeds for 1503, twice. The second entry notes that residents of two local areas pay two pence towards Kilcolyn (i.e. Kilcullen) Chapel, and a third penny towards Castlemartin Chapel. A further entry, in 1504, confirms to Holy Trinity Church (Christ Church Cathedral) property including "the Church of Killkolyn" "with the annexed chapel of St. Mary's, Castlemartin".
There is no information now as to the extent of the staffing of the church, its exact relationship (sometimes described as dependency) with the church at Kilcullen (or the preceding church at Old Kilcullen) or the scale of burial activity within or around it.
...
Wikipedia