St Finbars RC Church

At N end of Inchigeelagh, surrounded by graveyard (CO081-014002-) with 19th- and 20th-century inscribed headstones. Rectangular gabled church, (long axis N-S); entrance front to N with shallow, narrow breakfront; central segmental-arched door; large window with Y-tracery overhead; bellcote on N gable. Interior lit by five pointed windows in E and W walls. Gallery at N end; unusual pointed arches, springing from ground level, supporting wooden ceiling. According to plaque, church blessed in 1869 'under the title of the Holy Angels and St. Finbarr'; however, the church is early 19th-century in style and clearly marked on 1842 OS 6-inch map. Stone plaque, now in farmyard of Inchigeelagh House, has date 1842 and probably came from this structure. 1842 OS 6-inch map shows T-shaped 'R.C. Chapel' (CO081-014001-) on E side of village street c. 100m to S of present church, on site of, or incorporated into, present parish hall; this is probably church which Lewis (1837, vol. 2, 15) described as 'built in 1820, and considerably enlarged in 1830'. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009