Jumping wall of Kildemock

The jumping wall of Kildemock is a strange church ruin in the townland of Millockstown, a mile and a half south of Ardee.

A plaque at the site reads: “This wall by its pitch, tilt and position can be seen to have moved three feet from its foundation.”

Cleanly sliced from its foundation, the gable wall can be found standing fully upright, two feet inside it’s original foundation. While some believe that what caused the church to “jump” some 289 years ago, was a powerful storm on Candlemas Day in 1715, local folklore holds that the church moved itself, to avoid holding an excommunicated individual who was buried inside the church’s walls. Excavated in 1953, fragments of stained glass window, lead and a silver penny of Edward III have been recovered.

As recently as 1998 it was possible to get an unofficial guided tour from the groundskeeper for IR£1.