St John's, John Street, Kilkenny

The medieval city of Kilkenny boasts a number of historic churches. The most famous is of course the Church of Ireland cathedral, St Canice's. One of the lesser known, but equally historic buildings is St. John's. While the present day church is itself early nineteenth century, it stands on the site of a medieval priory dating back to the 1200s. The original priory belonged to the Canons Regular of St Augustine. Long since extinct in Ireland, the Augustinian Canons were once spread throughout the island; at their height in the thirteenth century they had over 100 houses. The priory at Kilkenny was founded largely thanks to the efforts of the first earl of Pembroke, Sir William Marshall, a leading figure in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. Long since abandoned, the remains of this priory were partly incorparted into the nineteenth century church and are clearly visible to visitors. 

Henry VIII's dispute with Pope Clement VII over his marital situation with Queen Catherine ultimately led to Henry founding two national churches (the Church of England and the Church of Ireland), of which he was supreme head of both. Henry's reformation in England was largely successful, while in Ireland it was on the whole unsuccessful in converting large numbers of the native population. Many confiscated Catholic churches soon became derelict and unused. Funds were generally not forthcoming to erect new Protestant churches, apart from in towns and cities where the Protestant population was larger. This remained the case until the early nineteenth when the Board of First Fruits embarked upon a wide scale programme of church building in the 1810s. Thus many towns and villages received a new church, including Kilkenny, whose rebuilt St. Johns was a typically 'First Fruits' church: a plain gabled hall with a square tower built on the west end.

St John's interior was also typical of the First Fruits' churches: a relatively small, aisleless hall, with some Gothic features. The plain stained glass window bears the inscription: 'The Bread of Life'. The church is still in use, and is joined in a union of parishes with nearby St Canice's Cathedral.

The picture above shows the ruins of the medieval priory to the left and rear with the newly built church to the right.