placenames.ie
Population centre

Killour

Cill Odhar

The archaeological record describes a fragmentary church and a group of holy wells in Killour townland.

Watercolour and fine ink illustration of Castle Bay on Lough Mask near Killour, as photographed in September 1990.
Illustration, Castle Bay on Lough Mask near Killour, as photographed in September 1990
Recorded locationKillour53.58297° N · 9.28357° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Approximate recorded location · Logainm.ie

The name

cillchurch

These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.

An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.

Recorded forms

  • Cill Odhar · Irish · main form · validated name
  • Killour · English · main form

Place & story

The church site

The Archaeological Survey records a short surviving stretch of church wall on high ground in Killour. Dense vegetation complicated its interpretation. A surrounding feature was recorded as a possible ecclesiastical enclosure, rather than a securely identified monastery, and was subsequently removed during land reclamation. [2] [3]

Three holy wells

Three nearby springs are recorded as holy wells. Tobar-an-Bhric emerges at the foot of a limestone plateau; Tobar Fheicin rises in marshy ground. Tobar Naomh Phadraic is described as a semicircular stone-built well, overgrown with briars, with an active spring. These are descriptions recorded in the survey, rather than a claim about their present condition. [4]

Geographic information

Place type
Population centre
County
Mayo
Barony
Kilmaine
Civil parish
Ballinchalla
Coordinates
53.58297, -9.28357 (approximate)
Logainm ID
1417293 ↗

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Killour. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. Archaeological Survey of Ballinrobe and District1994,no624:MA117-031001 · D. Lavelle; Archaeological Survey of Ireland
  3. Archaeological Survey of Ballinrobe and District1994,no593:MA117-031005 · D. Lavelle; revised by Jane O’Shaughnessy,Archaeological Survey of Ireland
  4. Archaeological Survey of Ballinrobe and District1994,nos657–659:MA117-031002–4 · D. Lavelle; Archaeological Survey of Ireland
  5. Castle Bay on Lough Mask near Killour, as photographed in September 1990 illustration: based on a Swallow Hole, Castle Bay, Lough Mask by Mike Simms. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.