“By the firesides of our fathers in the troubled days of yore,
He tuend the harp to Erin’s songs of woe,
But that harp is mute for ever, and the minstrel is no more
For he’s sleeping in silent Teampull Noe”
The above verse is from a poem titled Teampull Noe by the 19th century historian and poet Owen Bresnan (1847-1912) and was written about Thomas O’Connellan (1630-1698) a famous 17th century composer and harpist. Both men are buried within the graveyard of Temple Nua (the New Church) which stands picturesquely near the south shore of Lough Gur. The locale around Lough Gur is rich in national monuments and the area does exude a beautiful calm and transcendent quality. The church ruin we see today replaced an earlier 15th century chapel which was used by the Earls of Desmond. The estates of the Earls of Desmond were confiscated in the 1580s and their property was given to the Bourchier family, the Earls of Bath. The old church was listed as a ruin by 1642 but was restored by the Countess of Bath, Rachael Bourchier in 1679, a year before her death, and this church became known as the New Church or Teampall Nua in Irish. The church served the Church of Ireland parishioners and during this time a belfry was added. The aforementioned famous blind poet, bard, harper and composer, Thomas O’Connellan from County Sligo died at nearby Bourchier’s Castle in 1698, he had been staying there as a guest and its is believed he is buried in an unmarked grave near the north east gable of the church. The church fell into ruin during the 19th century, but was conserved in 1900 but Sir John Francis de Salis, 7th Count de Salis who had inherited a large part of the Bourchier/Bath estates in 1871.
Though the ruins are quite simple its setting, beside Lough Gur, the many arched windows that do the structure and the trees that enclose this rectangular graveyard make it a monument that is perhaps more spectacular than the sum of its parts. It is most certainly worth a visit when in the fantastic Lough Gur area.
GPS: 52.51087, -8.52757