Banagher Old Church –, O' Heney’s Tomb, Carnanbane Road, Dungiven, Co Londonderry

Banagher Old Church – O'Heney's Tomb

A fine late mediaeval tomb, traditionally believed to be the burial place of St Muiredach, also known as St Murrough O'Heney, the abbot founder of the monastic settlement in the townland of Carnanbane, Parish of Banagher. The tomb is finely proportioned and well preserved, with comparable examples found in the old graveyard at Bovevagh.

The structure takes the form of a stone-built hut with gabled and pitched roof. It is constructed of sandstone in ashlar work, measuring approximately 2400 by 1500 millimetres in plan and approximately 1800 millimetres to the ridge. The orientation follows that of the nearby church ruins. In the west gable there is a sunken panel or recess extending from ground level to slightly above eaves level, recessed approximately 100 millimetres, within which sits a bust of a figure in low relief, much eroded, measuring about 500 by 400 millimetres. The remainder of the recess is faced with random-sized stones. The side walls are well built with small projections at the corners of the east gable, forming a plinth to that face. Between the quoin stones of the east gable, infilling consists of random rubble work. The steeply pitched roof is faced with ashlar slabs of sandstone in four courses, the bottom course being notably greater on the face. The ridge comprises a series of shaped stones.

The tomb sits on a crude plinth projecting beyond the side walls, presumably the foundation stones. A small hole near the base of the west gable was traditionally used to extract sand, believed to possess curative properties. The plan form exhibits proportions similar to the Golden Section, and the gables form an equilateral triangle. The structure is located to the south of the church ruins, downhill from the summit, and is presently surrounded on three sides by a random rubble wall where excavation cuts into the slope. The tomb lies within the confines of the old graveyard.

The tomb may date between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. It was restored circa 1830 by Reverend Doherty. The O.S. Memoirs record that sand around the tomb is reckoned sacred, with the O'Heney sept claiming sole privilege of lifting it. Every household of the sept traditionally maintained a store of it, with numerous legends recounting its virtues. The tomb is compared in the Ordnance Survey documentation to that illustrated by G. Petrie in "The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland."