12. TNW Ishartmon

Many people hope to make it through the Pearly Gates to Paradise in the next life, but just by passing through the graveyard gates of Ishartmon, a person has technically made it there in this one, for you are standing in the heart of the townland of Paradise no less!

 
 It served as the parish church of Ishartmon, a name that is thought to have been derived from Disert Munna - St Munna's Church. The Ishartmon parish may have been defunct before 1615 as it does not appear on Bishop Rams visitations for that year. Munna was a somewhat conservative and curmudgeonly disciplinarian afflicted with leprosy, but with the power to read his monks' minds. While not quite the ‘heavy hitter’ that minds the Pearly Gates, a full account of St. Munna's life and interesting times is in the URL link below.

 The walls of this nave and chancel church, except for the north wall of the nave, have all survived complete. Some of the features to look out for are a rectangular nave window, a pointed chancel window and of course the famous double bellcote over the west gable. A number of internal features such as an aumbry, a stone shelf and a pointed chancel arch are present. Lying just inside the doorway is a circular granite font. 

 With three of the four main walls still intact, including the spectacular west gable wall, it is easy to visualise how this church would have looked in Norman times. Yvonne Doyle tells us about its double bellecote. She also offers a further video explanation in this link: https://youtu.be/o9jc80CoGew 

The Norman Way, Wexford, Forth and Bargy
See https://www.racontour.com/the-norman-way/ for more content on south Wexford
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