KILBRIDE
The
Irish Patent Rolls of James 1 record the following grant on
10/3/1605, made to Edmund Barrett, “commonly called baron
of Irrus”, along with a whole series of other lands: “the
town and castle of Kilbride, and the town of Rathlaccan in
the barony of Tirawley…”. In the Strafford Inquisition of
1635 we find “John Barrett of Kilbridy” as the owner of a
“two-thirds quarter called Carrowmore Kilbridy” along with
other lands in the district.
On
the side of Kilbride hill there is a standing stone, 5'4"
in height by 1'6" broad with a large inscribed cross
and two smaller ones under the arms of the larger one. These
resemble the crosses to be found in Iniskea and may, therefore,
date from about the seventh century.
St.
Bridget's Well is said to have been originally beside this
stone, but is now situated about 100 yards South-West of the
old church.
Father
P. Flanagan's grave in Kilbride here was at one time a place
of pilgrimage for local people and clay from his grave was
sent to those seeking it as a pledge of his intercession.
The cavity under the gravestone can be clearly seen to this
day. The tombstone over his grave was erected in 1879, 50
years after his death. He had a reputation for sanctity and
great solicitude for the poor.
Near
the graveyard were the remains of a Penal day church. It had
the altar in the middle of the side wall. No trace of this
is now to be seen.
The
old church of Kilbride, like that of Doonfeeney, must be the
successor of an older church building on the same site. It
is described in detail in the O.S. Letters, where the inside
measurements are given as 51' by 21'. The window in the East
gable is given as being 48"wide by 20"high. There
is also mention of a small window in the South side-wall near
the East gable of this church building. This church remained
in use until 1808.
DOONFEENEY
The
ruins now to be seen in Doonfeeney Churchyard probably are
not those of the original church but of one built on the same
site afterwards. The inside measurement of the old church
is given as being 18 yards long and 8½ wide. The door-way
in the South side-wall near the West gable was 5'10"
or 6' high by 3'4" broad. One table tomb within the church
itself bears the date 1734. On another, carved in stone, is
Gabriel with his trumpet poised and ready.
The
Ordnance Survey Letters (1838) tell us that immediately to
the South of the church is a graveyard “surrounded with a
claidh (foss) in the form of a fort (lios) as may be concluded
from the circumstance of the South-West part of it being still
observable, the part to the North being removed to give way
to a road.” This may be the Dún which gave its name
to the church and hence to the parish.
The
Ogham or Standing Stone in this graveyard is the second largest
in Ireland being described as: “A stone 18' or 20' high and
9" thick, fixed in the ground and inclining to the East,
on the N.W. side of which is cut the form of a cross about
2' long, with a small cross 10"long and some ornamental
incisions under it”.
About
a quarter-mile N.W. of the church, near a fort called Rath
Ui Dubhda (Rath of O'Dowd) were St. Derbile's and St. Brendan's
wells at which Stations were performed in 1838. Downhill from
the rath an underground stream was formerly accessible and
used for curative purposes.
At one time there were
two quarters of land surrounding the church which were claimed
as see lands by the diocese of Killala. |