St. Coman's Project funded by the Heritage Council

St Coman's Church is a ruined stone church sited on a hillock near the Quay in Kinvara.Described by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland as a medieval parish church, it is also known as Kinvara's 'hidden church'. The term 'hidden' refers to its having no designated point of entry or access or any right of way preserved. It may also refer to the fact that the church has, for no clear reason, been forgotten and its graveyard is no longer a place of commemoration locally.

The latest from the Project

We began in the Autumn of 2004 with a drawn and
photographic survey of the building and completed
it in 2005. The recording of the graves took
place in 2006 and 2007 with a dedicated team of
volunteers and an archaeologist. The ground plan
was prepared with a grid being laid over the site
and the location and size of each gravestone
measured and plotted. The gravestones are
numbered 1-158. Each one was photographed and the
inscriptions transcribed.
Through the funding from the Heritage Council and
the work of St. Coman's Project Heritage Group,
under the auspices of Kinvara Community Council,
a comprehensive archive of material has been
amassed on St.Coman's Church and Graveyard. The
site has intrigued archaeologists, historic
building consultants and architectural historians
during the study period. The project has also
highlighted the vulnerability of the site,
falling as it does through the administrative
cracks as no record of its ownership survives. It
is imperative that the levels of decay and
instability recorded to date are not allowed to
continue unchecked and that this interesting and
thought-provoking site is preserved as it is into
the future.