Church in Cloone (mohill By.)

The first Roman Catholic church of Cloone (LE033-008001-) was built on what was probably the site of the medieval parish church and the names of some of the clergy from the Macheydan or MacKeehan family are known from 1406-1522 (MacNamee 1954, 593). This family were also coarbs to the old monastery, and the parish church of Cloone became one of the churches of the rectory of Muinter Eolais after 1472, having belonged to a separate rectory of Regeles before that (Scully 2019, 133-4). Two churches are depicted on the barony and parish maps of the Down Survey (1656-8), and two churches are specifically mentioned in its terrier or commentary of that map. There are no structural remains of a medieval church but three architectural fragments from windows and doorways with multiple mouldings are displayed on the N wall of the graveyard and are of late medieval date. See the attached section of the Down Survey map, which is reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (Ms 717). Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 6 December, 2019 Amended: 10 January 2020

The first Roman Catholic church in Cloone was built on the likely site of a medieval parish church, with clergy from the Macheydan or MacKeehan family recorded from the 15th century. Its construction reflects the continuity of Catholic worship in the area following the Reformation.