Temple Carragh
Temple Carragh, Jigginstown, Naas, Co. Kildare
Situated in the townland of Jigginstown, on a pasture rise opposite the seventeenth century ruins of Jigginstown House, lies the ruin of a tiny church known as Temple Carragh.
The names would suggest an early medieval date for this structure. ….
This research was carried out to establish if LiDAR hillshade analysis could detect any trace of a road or path leading to this structure that is today isolated from the contemporary road network. Another potential feature that might be expected at such a site would be an enclosure, as the vast majority of early medieval ecclesiastical sites in Ireland have circular enclosures surrounding them. However, the imaging did not detect any trace of an enclosure; although it should be kept in mind that LiDAR can only detect surface features. Such features can be completely ploughed out or removed through land improvements.
A possible candidate for an access route leading to the structure can be seen to the north west in the LiDAR hillshade slides. This raised linear feature is particularly visible in the slides with the azimuth positions: 0°, 45°, 180°, and 225°, with 45° being the most convincing. There is a depression between the immediate site of the structure and this potential track, noticeable at the azimuth positions: 90°, 270°, and 315°. Despite this, it is clear that this linear feature continues across this depression. The feature does not correspond with any field boundaries on historical Ordinance Survey mapping but it is not clear if it is directed towards the church or if it aligns with the modern field boundary to the north of the structure. Caution is needed, therefore, as it may be coincidental that this feature appears to lead towards the church structure. It may simply be a modern field boundary that pre-dates the OS maps. In addition, another linear features of similar appearance is visible approximately 530 meters to the north west, also along the edge of a ridge.
There appears to be a raised area immediately surrounding the structure, however, it only extends a number of meters from the extant walls and is not large enough to represent any kind of cemetery or enclosure. The resolution of this LiDAR data is 2 meters. The small scale of this structure means that no conclusive observations can be made with data at this resolution.
