Kilnaboy’s ruined church has a Sheela-na-gig over its south door and a rare double-armed cross on its west gable – two carvings worth pulling off the R476 for, in a Burren village most people would otherwise drive straight through. It sits on the southern edge of the Burren, a UNESCO Global Geopark, a short drive north of Corofin and within reach of the Cliffs of Moher and a landscape thick with prehistoric monuments.
The church and its carvings
The two carvings are the reason to stop. Set above the south doorway is a Sheela-na-gig, a weathered stone figure – one of a scattering across the Burren – usually read as a fertility or protective charm. It’s small and time-worn, so look for it rather than expecting it to announce itself. On the west gable is the rarer thing: a double-armed ‘Lorraine’ cross, the kind seen more often on the Continent than in an Irish field.
The building’s dating is muddled, and it’s worth being straight about that. Some sources call it a church of 11th-century origin repaired in 1715; others describe the standing structure as essentially 16th-century, patched up in the same year. Either way, it sits on a far older foundation. The name Cill Iníne Baoith, ‘the church of the daughter of Baoith’, points to an early female saint, and a convent here is traditionally dated to around 540 AD.
Beside the church stands the stump of a round tower – about 4 metres of it, the rest long gone. Local tradition blames Cromwellian troops, though there’s no firm evidence for it. One old account claims the tower once topped 100 feet; all that’s certain is the low base you see today.
The church and tower are open, unfenced and free, all year. Parking is the catch: a few spaces tucked in beyond the church on a road where traffic moves quickly, so pull in with care.
The Mullaghmore Loop walk
For walkers, this is the real draw. Kilnaboy is the trailhead for the 7.5 km Mullaghmore Loop, which circles Mullaghmore (590 ft) – a hill of banded, tilted limestone that photographs better than almost anything else in the national park – then skirts the still water of Lough Gealain at its foot. It’s moderately graded and waymarked, taking in open pasture, patches of woodland and bare karst.
Wear boots with grip. Wet limestone pavement is genuinely slick, and there are uneven sections underfoot. In spring the grikes, the fissures in the pavement, fill with Burren flora.
Roughan Hill and the wedge tombs
Just north of the village, Roughan Hill holds Clare’s densest concentration of wedge tombs – boxy Bronze Age burial monuments, not the earlier passage graves they’re sometimes called. Parknabinnia is the most accessible of them; there are more than 90 megalithic monuments scattered across the surrounding hills. Stay on the paths and off the tombs themselves.
A little way off, on the old road toward Leamaneh Castle, stood Cross Inneenboy, a T-shaped tau cross that once marked a boundary. The original is now in the Clare Heritage Centre in Corofin, with a replica left at the roadside; it is usually dated to the medieval period, most often the 12th century.
Inchiquin Lake
A short drive away, this 260-acre lake is popular with anglers and kayakers and reliable for birdwatching. Grey herons, kingfishers and mallard use it, white-tailed eagles are seen overhead, and among the mute swans you might spot the odd black swan.
Getting there and around
Kilnaboy is on the R476 north of Corofin, reached from Ennis via the N85. Free parking sits at the Mullaghmore Loop trailhead and, more tightly, beside the church.
Public transport is thin but real: the TFI route 333 (Kilkee to Ennis) stops at ‘Kilnaboy (Church Ruins)’, dropping you at the door – check the current timetable before relying on it. The nearest train station is at Ennis, with Shannon Airport roughly 45 km south.
There’s no visitor centre; information boards at the trailhead and church cover the basics. Mobile signal drops on the higher parts of the loop, so download an offline map first.
Nearby
- Leamaneh Castle – a 15th-century tower house with a gaunt 17th-century mansion grafted onto it, just north of the village on the R476. See Leamaneh Castle.
- Glanquin Farmhouse – better known as the Parochial House from Father Ted, a few minutes away and a fixture on the fan trail.
- Aillwee Cave and Birds of Prey Centre – guided cave tours and flying displays, a short drive north.
- Cahercommaun Stone Fort – a triple-walled ringfort perched on an inland cliff.
- Ballyportry Castle – a fully restored 16th-century tower house open for interior visits.
- Corcomroe Abbey – a well-preserved 13th-century Cistercian ruin in the northern Burren.
For the best light on the church carvings, come in the low sun of early morning or late afternoon; the west-gable cross catches an evening sun that a midday visit misses.