Old Church — Cooly

The early ecclesiastical site here consists of a sub-rectangular shaped graveyard inside of which are a number of earlier features. The site is located on excellent land sloping to Lough Foyle to the E and is traditionally claimed to have been founded by St. Patrick (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 399; Lacy et. al. 1983, 261). To the W outside the entrance to the graveyard (DG021-008001-) is a tall, plain, ringed high-cross (DG021-008005-). Inside the graveyard are the remains of two churches (DG021-008002-/003-) and a mortuary house or tomb shrine (DG021-008004-). One of the churches served as a medieval parish church (Leslie 1937, 265). North Church (DG021-008003-): only the E gable survives. It is built of roughly coursed split stone and rubble, is c. 5.5m long and 3.7m high. It has a narrow lintelled window 0.9m high with splayed ingoings; the jambs are missing. The gable is bonded at right angles to the graveyard wall and the latter may be on the line of the original N wall of the church. The NE quoin is modern. The SE corner of the church is obscured by a table tomb. There are no signs of the S wall and the W graveyard wall may be on the line of the W wall of the church. There are two blocks with characteristic medieval punched dressing, reused in the NW exterior corner of the graveyard wall. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 24 February 2015