Ballylarkin Church

Ballylarkin Church, also called Ballylarkin Abbey, is a medieval church and National Monument in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

Location
Ballylarkin Church is located beside the road, 2.3 km southwest of Freshford.

History
The region was controlled by the Ó Lorcáin until they were ousted by the Anglo-Norman Shorthalls (Schortal) in 1326. James Schortal and his wife Catherine White built the church, a small single-room structure, at Ballylarkin in 1350.

A triple sedilia was later inserted into the south wall in the 14th century. A sheela-na-gig was originally at Ballylarkin but has been moved to the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology.

Church
The church was fortified with a chemin de ronde and a small north entrance. It has a Gothic cut stone window.

There is a triple sedilia in the south wall. Along the top of the north and south walls is a series of corbel-stones with tracery. Beside the sedilia is a piscina with quatrefoil basin. There is an ambry beside the east window.