St Ruadhan’s Church – Kilruane, Cloughjordan

St Ruadhan

St. Ruadhan’s Church at Kilruane is a small cruciform building, constructed some time between 1838 and 1840. According to tradition, it replaced a Penal-era mass house in the locality that was flattened during the Night of the Big Wind. The altar and reredos were constructed and installed by Patrick Pearse’s father, James Pearse, about 1900. In 1976 the building was extensively renovated and the sanctuary reordered. In the course of the works several blocked up doors and windows were discovered, suggesting that the building had been used for some other purpose before being converted to a church. A bell that once called workers from the nearby Toler estate to their meals was installed in the belfry. Stained glass windows and Stations of the Cross are by Mayer of Munich. Paschal candle and sanctuary lamp pedestal are carving from bog oak, done by local people and generously donated.