The Civil Survey of 1654–6 recorded the church as being under repair at that time, suggesting it was already ancient even then. When the congregation finally moved to a newly built Church of Ireland parish church in 1826, they left behind not just an old building but a site layered with religious significance spanning multiple eras.

The church sits within a graveyard that continues to hold the memories of local families, whilst a cross-inscribed slab to the southwest hints at the site’s early Christian heritage. These carved stones, common throughout Ireland, often mark places of worship that predate any standing structures by centuries. In 1977, local historian Conaghan documented two damaged bullaun stones at the church; these distinctive bowl-shaped depressions carved into rock were traditionally used for grinding grain or holding holy water, though the survey team couldn’t locate them during their fieldwork.

Set amidst good pasture land with the sea shore just a short walk to the southwest, Killaghtee occupies the kind of location favoured by early Irish Christians; accessible to the community yet close enough to the coast to maintain connections with the wider world. The site forms part of County Donegal’s rich archaeological landscape, documented in the comprehensive Archaeological Survey that catalogues field antiquities from the Mesolithic period through to the 17th century.