The Old Chapel and Famine Era Bell in the 'Old' Graveyard

A Chapel once existed in the Old Graveyard, the remains of which are just an old stone wall with some plaques and holy water fonts. Embedded in the wall is a date stone, 1802,  for the old chapel.

The stone was found by Tommy Rankin when the new chapel gates were moved back from the roadside in the 1980s. The old pillars were taken down and rebuilt a safe distance from the road edge under the auspices of Fr Regan PP Lavey.

 

Tommy Rankin said he lifted a stone as he was rebuilding the left pillar and he thought he noticed something. He wiped the stone with his hand and discovered that there was writing or an enscription on it.

 

It read 'this chapel was built in year 1802.

 

 

The stone is believed to have come from the old chapel in the old graveyard since the current new chapel was not built until 1873.

 

Incidentally the pillars were once again rebuilt in 2021 during the 2018/19 renovations and have electric light lanterns now fitted to their tops

From left in the 1980s photo below, Fr Patrick Regan PP, Fran Magill and stone mason Tommy Rankin, who rebuilt pillars. The date stone 1802, is on the ground at Tommy;s feet, which was found in one pillar and it is now located in the old graveyard. It was placed in the wall which is the only remains of the original old Lavey Chapel.

 

 

We currently do not have much history about the old chapel except some ordnance survey notes and repair bills carried out by PP Fr McAleer at that time, some of these are reproduced further down below on this page.

 

Fr Regan PP in the 1980s got Fran and Mickey to mark out the Old Chapel with flagstones. During 2026 it was decided to mark out the outline of the Old Chapel more clearly with stone from an old place in Ballymacpeake.  The flagstones have now been removed and the old chapel outline is  marked instead with old stones.

 

The work has been carried out by Brendan McGill assisted by James Shaw.

The Famine Era Bell

Fr Graham PP has recently acquired, through the good auspices of the Late Father Liam Donnelly, a very old church bell. This bell was cast during the famine years. It is now placed in the old cemetery near the old church ruin in memory of the victims of the Great Famine, many of whom are buried here. It is also a memorial to all victims of conflict in the years since the building of the Church in 1803. The bell also reminds us that the law of the land forbade Church bells when the old church was built. This was one of the Penal Laws. Going further back, it also links us to the Great St. Patrick’s Bell, which was for many years concealed in Mayogall for safety.

 

The frame from which the ball hangs was manufactured by Paddy Duggan of Duggan Engineering Carnamen and assisted by his staff was placed on a concrete base in the Old Graveyard. The base had been dug out previously and partly filled with concrete. The work team was Brendan and Seamus McGill, James Shaw, Tom Magill and excavator operator John O'Neill.

More concrete please

 

Old Chapel Notes

Repairs to Old Chapel 1845 - Father McAleer PP Lavey.

 

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