Church in Newchurch

According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 4, 82-3), the church, ‘stood in “the old town” of Newchurch, near the bounds of Ballygown (Ponsonby). There was a village in “the old town” till about 1850, when the tenants were evicted and their houses all levelled. Up to the date just mentioned, part of the church remained and served as the gable of a barn belonging to a man named Michael Connolly. The site of the village and church has been since ploughed up, and is now a rich pasture field. The ancient name of this church was Killiny. In a document of the year 1446, already given, the townland in which it stood is called Kyllyne, or Killiny, of Howellyscastell (i.e. Castlehale), to distinquish it from Killiny beside Kells, where there was another ancient church’.  The precise location of the church in the townland is unknown. A possible bullaun stone (KK035-117----), inserted in a field boundary, is located in the vicinity of the former village. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

The Church in Newchurch was likely built by a local landowner or religious community in the medieval period, with its exact date uncertain but possibly before the 17th century. It was dedicated to an unidentified saint and served the now-vanished village until the mid-19th century; its remains offer insight into early settlement patterns and ecclesiastical history in the area.