South of Ardee there's the Jumping Church, also known as Kildemog Church.
The building, in ruins, dates from the 14th century and was built on the site of the more ancient church of Deomog.
After the Norman invasion in the 12th century, the parish went under the control of the Knights Templar that dedicated the church to St. Catherine. From 1313 until the suppression of the religious orders the church was under the care of the Knights Hospitaller.
The building is 17 metres long and 7 metres wide. According to the local tradition, the west (280°) wall jumped inwards the church by 1.78 metres to exclude the grave of an excommunicated person from its perimeter. More likely the wall was dislocated during a violent storm in 1715.
The sun came out for only 30 seconds during our visit.
This was the second visit to this site after the one on May 4th, 2002.
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