placenamesKilcash
Cill Chaise
Kilcash preserves a fortified Butler residence, a medieval church and family mausoleum, alongside a Catholic church reshaped in the nineteenth century.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Cill Chaise · Irish · main form
- Kilcash · English · main form
Place & story
From fortified tower to adjoining hall
Kilcash Castle's surviving tower dates from the sixteenth century. The county tourism authority identifies it as a residence of the Butler family and distinguishes the tower from the hall added beside it later. These adjoining structures record changing domestic expectations: a defended residence acquired more spacious accommodation as well as retaining its older fortified core. [2]
The medieval church
The Office of Public Works dates the medieval church to around 1190–1200, on a site associated with Saint Colmán ua hEirc. It records an enlargement in 1389 and notes that the church was still roofed in 1656. A Romanesque sandstone doorway preserves three decorated orders, including chevron ornament. The surviving fabric therefore carries evidence of successive building phases, rather than simply marking the location of an early religious foundation. [3]
The Butler mausoleum
The graveyard's Butler mausoleum dates from the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. Those buried there include Colonel Thomas Butler of Kilcash, who died in 1738; Margaret Butler, Lady Iveagh, who died in 1744; and Christopher Butler, Archbishop of Cashel, who died in 1757. Later burials included two earls of Ormond. The OPW records that the mausoleum was sealed in 1991. [3]
St John’s changed entrance
St John's Catholic church was built around 1820 and altered around 1885. The National Inventory explains that it originally faced west but was subsequently reoriented towards an elaborately refaced eastern elevation. A porch, sacristy and stone chimneystack gave that side an asymmetrical appearance. Alternating limestone and sandstone details tied the new work to the older building, while decorative patterns incised into the graveyard paths added an unusual local feature. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kilcash. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Kilcash Castle · Time for Tipperary, county tourism authority
- Kilcash Church and graveyard · Office of Public Works, Heritage Ireland
- Saint John’s Catholic Church, NIAH 22207803 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2009-04-28. How this page was prepared.