Christ Church — Moyle More

Situated on a rise overlooking an E-W valley just to the N. The parish church of Aughnamulen is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation (1302-06) of Pope Nicholas IV as Crichmugdorn, from which the barony of Cremourne is named, and the tithes were impropriate to St Mochta’s Augustinian abbey of Louth when the abbey was suppressed in 1540 (Shirley 1879, 346-50). The names of some of the clergy are known from 1421. The church was described as ruinous in the Royal Visitation of 1622 (Leslie 1929, 115-8). In 1628/9 it was complained that Papists had set up an altar at the church of Aughnamullan (Ó Gallachair 19757, 98, 108). (McKenna 1920, 1, 349-69) The present Church of Ireland parish church was built c. 1820 and extended with an aisle on the NW side c. 1847. The rest of the structure was rebuilt in 1864 after a fire. This church appears to be located in an annexe attached to the NW of a roughly subrectangular graveyard (dims c. 50m NE-SW; c. 40m NW-SE) defined by masonry walls, which has headstones dating from c. 1750, but there is no evidence of the medieval church. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Monaghan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 30 November 2016