St Brigid, KILLASHANDRA, Roman Catholic

A Roman Catholic church built in the French Gothic style to designs by William Hague (1836-1899), an eminent church architect of the period. St Bridget's is one of Hague's earliest works and exhibits the originality of his compositional ability and inventive use of detail. The unusual roof structure may reflect the influence of the French architect and theorist Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879). The original designs for the church included a spire, however only the square-plan stages of the tower were constructed. The church retains its historic character, and most of its original features and materials. It is well-built using local stone and has good quality cut and dressed stone detailing throughout. It replaced a modest church building of c.1790 which burnt down in 1807, the ruins of which survive in the graveyard. The simple rubble limestone boundary wall and the fine collection of grave markers in the nearby graveyard add to its setting and context. The building is a work of high quality by an important architect and its scale and rich detailing attest to the growing confidence of the Catholic church in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

[ National Inventory of Architectural Heritage ]