This national monument are the ruins of a fortified church constructed by the Knights Templar in the 13th century. A castle which lay adjacent to the church has completely disappeared. The church was built in the 15th century and was furnished with a 70 foot high fortified bell tower.
The castle was the home of the ‘Berminghams’ and the ‘Barnwells’ until the Cromwellian invasion. A group of Irish anti-Parliamentarians called ‘The Confederates’ held the castle until 1652 when it was pummeled by the artillery belonging to the forces of Colonel Trafford. Everyone caught within the walls were executed, except two priests who had also sided with ‘The Confererates’. These men were tortured and finally deported to France.
There is a local name given to a nearby field called the ‘Nuns Stood’ where supposedly the ‘Nuns of Baldongan’ stood and watched the utter destruction of the castle.