A church at Cannistown, County Meath is thought to have been founded by St Finian of Clonard in the sixth century. However, the present structure, dedicated to St Bridget, was erected some 600 years later, probably by the Nangle family, granted land in this part of the country by the Anglo-Norman knight Hugh de Lacy. Much of it was rebuilt in the 15th/16th centuries but thereafter it quickly fell into a poor condition: in 1612 George Montgomery, then-Bishop of Meath, wrote of Cannistown church ‘the chancel was repaired, but the church in ruins.’ So it has remained ever since.

The building’s most notable feature is its substantial chancel arch, which has decorative carvings at its base (above the pilasters on either side). Both well-worn and somewhat damaged, that on the north depicts three dogs attacking another animal, while the one to the south show three men and is thought to represent the Taking of Christ. There are also carved corbel stones above the, which would originally have supported the roof.