St. Patrick’s Catholic Church

Freestanding three-stage bell tower (on square-plan), erected c. 1828 or c. 1860, formerly part of Catholic church to site (now demolished c. 1965). Stepped crenellated rubble stone parapet having cut stone coping and central cut stone cross finials over, ashlar pyramid pinnacles to corners, ashlar stone stringcourse to base of parapet, and with cast-iron downpipes. Random rubble stone walls with cut stone stringcourse delineating stages. Pointed-arch window openings having slightly raised tooled ashlar surround, stone sills and metal or timber louvers. Pointed-arched doorway to front face (west) having tooled ashlar surround, and modern metal-sheeting. Set back from road in grounds shared with St. Patrick's church (see 40834003) to the east. Tower enclosed by low rubble stone walls. Located to the south-east of Ballindrait and to the north-west of Lifford.

This interesting freestanding structure has been retained from a former Catholic church to site later demolished following the completion of the modern building (see 40834003) located adjacent to the east. This church was apparently built in 1828 and was a simple T-plan structure (Ordnance Survey first edition six-inch map of c. 1837. This church was later depicted as a hall-type structure with the tower to the west end in 1903-5 (Ordnance Survey twenty-five inch map), which suggests that this building may have been significantly altered or rebuilt sometime between, perhaps c. 1860. The style of this tower suggests that it may date to the mid-nineteenth century. It is robustly built using local rubble stone masonry with some high-quality cut stone detailing particularly to the parapet with stepped crenellations and ashlar corner pinnacles, stringcourses delineating stages, and by the dressings surrounding the openings. This bell tower now acts as an historical reminder of this former Catholic church and stands in striking juxtaposition with Liam McCormick’s modern church that replaced it. This earlier church, of which this bell tower formed the west end, itself replaced an earlier church to site built during the late eighteenth century on a site donated by the Lord Erne, which was one of the first Catholic churches built in Ireland since Penal times and attests to a long focus of Catholic worship at this site. This bell tower is an interesting historical relic and is an integral element of the built heritage of the local area.