Church in Unknown Townland

In 1708 the parish of St. Nicholas Without was divided and part of it was given to the denomination of St. Luke's. A glebe house was erected on the Coombe for the vicar and the church of St. Luke was erected not far from the Glebe between 1715 and 1716: it was consecrated on 8th October 1716. Its construction was overseen by Thomas Burgh, the Surveyor-General of Ireland at the time, and he is also thought to have been its designer. It closed as a place of worship on 19th September 1975 and was left ruinous after a disastrous fire in 1986. In September 2016 enabling works commenced for the conservation and adaptive reuse of the ruin as office accommodation which is expected to be completed in 2017. The remains comprise a four-bay nave with a rectangular apse added 1889-90 to the east gable; a flat-roofed was porch added to the north side c. 1880. It was lit by segmental-headed windows which have cut limestone surrounds, keystones and sills. The west gable is surmounted by a cut granite bellcote with a carved stone cross; this was added c. 1900. (http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=DU&regno=50080643; St Luke’s Conservation Plan 2005) Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 24 April 2017