Situated in the townland of Hooks in County Wexford stands the scant remains of the medieval church of the parish of Kilcowan, in the barony of Bargy. It was the church of St. Cuán of Aribhre, who was a contemporary of the well know St. Munna of Taghmon. There has been a church at this site from the late 12^th century as reference to the church of Kilcogan in Bargy was mentioned as one of those granted by Hervey de Montmorency to Christchurch Abbey in Canterbury when he entered as a monk in 1183. In 1245 the church was in turn granted to the Cistercian abbey of Tintern and remained in the possession of Tintern at the time of the Suppression of the Monasteries in 1540, when it is recorded as ‘Kylcohan’. It is uncertain when Kilcowan fell into disrepair but according to the Visitation by the protestant Bishop of Ferns Thomas Ram in 1615, the vicar at the time Patrick Kelly was found guilty of adultery and deprived of office. Though I didn’t notice on the day of my visit there is a granite bullaun stone set in the ground outside the northwest corner of the church. A Norman motte is situated in a field to the west of the church that was in the ownership of the Keating family during the 13^th and 14^th centuries. The Dúchas Schools collection of the 1930s states that there was a pattern held at Kilcowan on the 15^th of August, at the Feast of the Assumption.

GPS: 52.23011, -6.59642