The scant remains of St Bridget’s Church at Tomard are situated close to the River Barrow in County Carlow. All that remains of the church is the simple east gable and low courses of the north and south walls. The eastern wall has a narrow-chamfered limestone window and a rear arc. A font stands in the nave of the church. There is a holy well situated 200 metres to the east of the church also dedicated to St Bridget. Legible tombstones date from 1709 to the present day. I could find very little information about this church and graveyard however I did come across a tale that’s part of the Dúchas Schools Folklore Collection of the 1930s, it’s a classic apocryphal tale but one I’ve always enjoyed so I decided to include it here. The collector of the tale was Úna Ní Dhubhshláine from Tomard Lower, the informant was Miss K.Fitzgerald.

“One day two boys found a lot of nuts and they went into a graveyard to count them and to share them. This is how they counted them. “This is mine, this is yours”. In the excitement two nuts fell over the wall.It was nearly dark when a man came along the road. He heard them counting and he said to himself – “this must be the devil and God counting the souls. I’ll go back for Jim”. Jim was a good friend of his and he asked him to come along and listen. The boys were still saying “This is mine and this is yours”. “Now”, said one boy, “We have them all except for the two on the road”. The two outside took to their heels and ran as fast as they could, arriving home breathless.”

GPS: 52.76807, -6.98079