The word Kilfane is believed to derive from Saint Pháin or Chill Pháin and the Church dates from the thirteenth century.
Though it now largely lies in ruins, it is well worth a visit if only to admire its medieval treasures and soak up the wonderfully peaceful atmosphere.
Leaning against the black wall of the church in the Irish townland of Kilfane is the remarkably well preserved stone carving of a Norman knight.
Known as the Cantwell Fada, also called the Long Man, the effigy is believed to represent a figure named Thomas de Cantwell, a Norman adventurer who became lord of the Kilfane region. At over eight feet tall, the relief is a larger-than-life figure wearing chain mail and bearing a shield with the Cantwell family arms. Carved from a single, massive piece of limestone, the slab may have been the sarcophagus stone of a crusader, indicated by the effigy’s rare cross-legged posture. This relic also holds the distinction of being the tallest 13th century carving of its kind.
