This modest ecclesiastical site represents centuries of continuous use, where modern graves stand alongside much older markers, creating a tangible link between past and present in County Donegal’s religious landscape.

Just outside the eastern wall of the graveyard, beside a babbling stream, lies a curious boulder measuring roughly three quarters of a metre long, half a metre wide, and 35 centimetres high. The stone features a carefully carved basin, 20 centimetres across and 13 centimetres deep, marking it as a bullaun stone; these mysterious hollow stones are found throughout Ireland and were likely used for grinding grain or herbs, though some believe they held holy water or served ritual purposes. When archaeologists visited the site, they noted a thorn tree beside the boulder decorated with rags, a practice known as ‘rag tree’ tradition where people tie cloth to branches whilst making wishes or prayers, suggesting the stone still holds spiritual significance for locals.

Interestingly, whilst Ordnance Survey maps from the 19th century marked a holy well near the boulder, no trace of it remains today. The site’s location on fertile land close to the river would have made it an ideal spot for early settlement, and the combination of church, graveyard, and bullaun stone suggests this has been a sacred place for many generations. The archaeological record here, documented in the comprehensive 1983 survey of County Donegal, offers a glimpse into how religious practices in rural Ireland have evolved whilst maintaining threads of much older traditions.