# Killursa

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killursa
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox church
| name             = Killursa
| full_name        = 
| other_name       = 
| native_name      = Cill Fhursa
| native_name_lang = ga
| image            = Killursa Church.JPG

| caption = 

| pushpin_map = Ireland
| relief      = yes
| map_caption = 
| coordinates = {{coord|53.467762|-9.144907|display=inline,title}}

| osgraw   = <!--  TEXT -->
| location = Ower, [Headford](/source/Headford), [County Galway](/source/County_Galway)
| country  = Ireland

| denomination      = [Catholic](/source/Catholic_Church) (pre-Reformation)
| former_name       = Kildaree Church<ref name="nmsc">{{cite web |url=https://www.archaeology.ie/sites/default/files/media/pdf/monuments-in-state-care-galway.pdf |title=National Monuments in State Care: Ownership & Guardianship: Galway |date=4 March 2009 |website=[National Monuments Service](/source/National_Monuments_Service) |archive-date=14 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114053649/https://www.archaeology.ie/sites/default/files/media/pdf/monuments-in-state-care-galway.pdf |url-status=live | access-date=9 June 2020 }}</ref><ref name="smi">{{cite book |last1=de Valera |first1=Ruaidhri |last2=O Nuallain |first2=Sean |title=Survey of the megalithic tombs of Ireland: Vol III |date=1972 |publisher=Stationery Office |location=Dublin |page=xv |url=https://www.archaeology.ie/sites/default/files/media/publications/smi-vol-3-text.pdf |access-date=31 May 2021 |archive-date=23 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923063250/https://www.archaeology.ie/sites/default/files/media/publications/smi-vol-3-text.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| dedication        = [Saint Fursey](/source/Saint_Fursey)
| status            = 
| functional_status = ruined
| style             = [Anglo-Norman](/source/Norman_architecture)
| years_built       = 12th century AD
| length            = {{Convert|22.5|m|abbr=on}}
| width             = {{Convert|7|m|abbr=on}}
| diocese           = [Tuam](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Tuam)
| embedded          = {{Infobox designation list
| embed                = yes
| designation2         = National monument of Ireland
| designation2_offname = Killursa
| designation2_number  = 231
}}
}}

'''Killursa''' is a medieval ruined [church](/source/Church_(building)) located in [County Galway](/source/County_Galway), Ireland. The name comes from the Irish ‘Cill Fhursa’, meaning “the church of Fursa”.  [St. Fursa](/source/Saint_Fursey) was a 7th-century saint who is thought to have established a monastery on this site. The church building dates to the 12th century and was designed in the [Romanesque](/source/Romanesque_architecture) style. It is surrounded by a large burial ground containing a combination of older and more modern graves. It is still in use today. The site is a protected [national monument](/source/National_monument_(Ireland)).

==Description==
The roofless, ruined church and large burial ground are located approximately {{Convert|1.5|miles|abbr=on}} west of [Headford](/source/Headford), north of [Galway city](/source/Galway_city), in Ireland. The building is rectangular in layout, measuring {{Convert|22.5|m|abbr=on}} in length and {{Convert|7|m|abbr=on}} in width. Designed in the Romanesque style, it contains some interesting architectural details including a  [mullion](/source/mullion)ed [Late Gothic](/source/Gothic_architecture) window and [trabeate](/source/trabeate) doorway.<ref name="megalithic">{{cite web |title=Killursa Church / Cill Fhursa |url=https://www.megalithicireland.com/Killursa%20Church,%20Galway.html |website=Megalithic Ireland |access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> There is a stone altar on the east end.<ref name="Visit Galway">{{cite web |title=Killursa Church |url=https://www.visitgalway.ie/explore/religious-and-spiritual/religious-ruins/killursa-church/#:~:text=The%20name%20Killursa%20comes%20from,work%20and%20founded%20other%20monasteries. |website=Visit Galway |access-date=18 February 2025}}</ref>

The graveyard contains a combination of old and modern gravestones. Some of the more interesting graves include carved [Celtic cross](/source/Celtic_cross)es and symbols and inscriptions in Irish and Latin. Many of the surviving gravestones date from the 18th century.<ref name="Visit Galway" /> There is a statue of St. Fursa near the entrance to the graveyard.<ref name="Galway Heritage">{{cite web |title=Killursa |url=https://heritage.galwaycommunityheritage.org/content/places/headford/places-headford/killursa |website=Galway County Heritage Office |access-date=18 February 2025 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421061533/https://heritage.galwaycommunityheritage.org/content/places/headford/places-headford/killursa |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
A monastery is believed to have been founded in the 7th century on this site or nearby, on the shore of [Lough Corrib](/source/Lough_Corrib) by [Saint Fursa](/source/Saint_Fursey). Saint Fursa was legendary in medieval literature for his visions of angels and the afterlife. The church dates from the 12th or 13th century. It was formally known as "Furnee".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yvmEAAAAIAAJ&q=Killursa|title=The history of Galway|first=Sean|last=Spellissy|date=1 January 1999|publisher=Celtic Bookshop|isbn=9780953468331|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFZ6AAAAIAAJ&q=Killursa&pg=RA1-PA371|title=A Chorographical Description of West Or H-Iar Connaught: Written A.D. 1684|first=Roderic|last=O'Flaherty|date=30 November 2017|publisher=For the Irish Archaeological Society|via=Google Books}}</ref> The church was probably used until the 18th century when it was abandoned and fell into ruin.<ref name="Visit Galway" /><ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia">{{cite web |title=St. Fursey |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06324d.htm |website=Catholic Encyclopedia |access-date=18 February 2025 |archive-date=27 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250127095759/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06324d.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
*[Clonfert Cathedral](/source/Clonfert_Cathedral)
* [Drumacoo](/source/Drumacoo)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Archaeological sites in County Galway
Category:National monuments in County Galway
Category:Former churches in County Galway

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Killursa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killursa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killursa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.