Parish History
Information about our Parish Faith History maintained by our parish office.
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Ballinavoran Church
In 1788 Dr. Plunket noted ‘one chapel repaired’. It was probably that at Ballinavoran. In 1836 the writer in the Name Book made the note: ‘ 8 perches from Ballynavoran Bridge is a Roman Catholic chapel in very bad repair, it is 2 stories and thatched’. About this time, Lewis describes it as ‘ a…
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Meath Hill School (1941-1988)
The Meath Hill school of 1854 was replaced by a new school which was begun in 1941 and opened in 1942 following the appointment of Fr. O’Neill. The building has been improved on a number of occasions, but a major extension and renovation job planned for 1986 was shelved due to cut-backs in funding.In 1940…
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Meath Hill Church
Meath Hill Church was erected by Fr. McCormack in 1843, and was dedicated to St. Patrick. It was rectangular shaped with one long aisle and the altar on the south wall. Prior to the completion of Fr. Brady’s history in the 1930’s the dedication of the church had been changed to St. Brigid.In 1943 the…
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Ballinavoran: Confirmation Records
Here are some statistics taken from Dr. Plunket’s diaries regarding his visitation to the parish.1782 Ballinavoran (Rev. Mr. Maglew) 8 confirmed1786 Ballinavoran (Rev. Luke M’Glew) 14 confirmed1797 Ardagh and Drumconrath at Ballinavoran Church (Rev. Luke M’Glew) 3 6 confirmed1798 Ballinavoran (Rev. Luke M’Glew) 1 6 confirmed Dr. Plunket writes “I announced to the pastor that I must send…
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Ballinavoran
Some time ago it was a placeThat cheer’d my soul to enter-The cosy cots that circled round,The chapel i n the centre,Where Father Reilly preach’d and pray’d,And sooth’d the heart forlorn-Now weeds and crumbling walls aloneRemain in Ballinavoran.The above verse was taken from “The Rural Harp” Researched and Compiled by Kathleen McArdle, “Brookville”, Drumconrath. Source:…
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Loughbracken
• Loughbracken.Loughbracken parish had the following townlands, Balsitric, Caddelstown, Drumgill, Druminshin,Killadden, Loughbracken, Summerhill Lower and Summerhill Upper. In 1841 there were 659 people in the parish. In 1871 the population was down to 333. (Census of Ireland 1871). Loughbracken means the lake of the speckled landscape. In the Ordinance Survey map of 1836 (revised in…
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Medieval borough of Drumconrath
developed around Ardee bog; Ardee to the east and Drumcondra to the west.The first reference to the borough of Drumconrath is in the Dowdall Deeds in the early 14t century. It reads:John Beckam, at the pure will of Avicia his wife, grants to William Ford an acre of arable land lyingnear the well of Kilbalnan…
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Ardagh
• Ardagh.The parish of Ardagh is located partly in the barony of Morgallion, but chiefly in the barony of Lower Slane. Ardagh is one of the parishes where St. Patrick himself is said to have founded a church. It is the sort of site beloved of the Celtic peoples – all the Royal Seats were…
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Balsitric
• Balsitric.Close by is the townland of Balsitric. On a height here, about 20 years age, the McDermott family were carrying out improvements on their land, at the behest of the Department of Agriculture. During the course of these improvements the head of a cross turned up. This information is taken from Leo Swan’s lecture…
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Rev. Andrew Byrne
1865-67 – Rev. Andrew Byrne. See Ballynacargy. Researched and Compiled by Kathleen McArdle, “Brookville”, Drumconrath. Source: Faith History of Drumconrath – Meath Hill.
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Curates
The present location (1993) of former curates is indicated in brackets. There have been no curates in the parish since 1980. Researched and Compiled by Kathleen McArdle, “Brookville”, Drumconrath. Source: Faith History of Drumconrath – Meath Hill.
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Rev. Bernard McDonnell
1875-76 – Rev. Bernard McDonnell. See Oldcastle. Researched and Compiled by Kathleen McArdle, “Brookville”, Drumconrath. Source: Faith History of Drumconrath – Meath Hill.
Share Your Stories
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