The Nuns Church lies about 500 yards to the east beyond the new cemetry. Originally built in the 10th century, it was restored in 1167 by Devorgilla, wife of Tiernan O' Rourke, Prince of Breifne, whose association with Dermot Mac Murrough led to the coming of the Normans to Ireland. The remains of this church are one of the finest existing examples of Irish Ramanesque architecture. The west doorway and the chancel arch have an abundance of stone carving of great beauty and variety.

CARVING

The Chancel of the Nuns Church has a small figure of a woman carved as a spandrel motif on a voussoir, a sketch of it by the antiquarian Westropp is entitled "Sheelangig" on the 7th ancient voussoir of order 3(B) In the Chancel Arch Nun's Church Clonmacanoise. It consists of a gortesque but highly finished face embraced by up-turned legs (guests). Various small faaces and animal heads occur in similar positions as spandrel ornament on the arch, but they are all less elaborate than the acrobatic sheela, with its heels about its head. This is the only church outside the main graveyard. There are treaces of a causeway leading to it. Its is a small nave and Chancel Church, the only one of its kind at Clonmacnoise except Temple Finghin which it closely resembles in style. Both churches are probably of roughly the same date, eearly in the 2nd half of the 12th century. The building was restored in 1867 by the Kilkenny Archaelogical Society. Blank stones were used in the chancel Arch to replace those which were missing.