Newtown Jerpoint, Co. Kilkenny Republic of Ireland
[Roman Catholic]
The ruined church, built around 1200 is now on private farm land west of the old Jerpoint Abbey. The unusual grave slab with an image of a cleric and two other heads, is popularly believed to be St Nicholas. A tale tells of a band of Irish-Norman knights from Jerpoint, traveling to the Holy Land in the Crusades. On retreat, they seized St Nicholas' remains, brought them back to Kilkenny, and buried them here. Normans in Kilkenny were keen collectors of religious relic and they did participate in the Crusades. The church is now part of Jerpoint Park, a privately owned national monument.