Church, Edenmore (Clonleigh North Ed), Co. Donegal
Clonleigh graveyard in County Donegal sits on a low drumlin surrounded by the reclaimed marshlands near where the Rivers Deele and Foyle meet, and it holds the remnants of what was likely an early ecclesiastical settlement dating back to the 6th century.
Church, Edenmore (Clonleigh North Ed), Co. Donegal
The site contains the fragmentary ruins of a medieval church, with only portions of the north and south walls still standing. The north wall, built from rubble, stretches 6.1 metres long and rises 4.15 metres high, whilst the south wall, now incorporated into the graveyard boundary, stands 4.75 metres long and 4.5 metres high. Both walls feature blocked up windows with segmental rear arches; the south wall’s window still shows traces of the original wicker centering used during its construction on the soffit of the arch.
Recent conservation work by Donegal County Council has uncovered several intriguing medieval artefacts within the graveyard. Three fragments of carved medieval mouldings have been discovered partially buried in the soil on the eastern side of the graveyard, near where the church once stood. Perhaps most notably, workers revealed a recumbent stone slab measuring 1.68 metres long, wider at one end than the other, bearing a deeply carved Maltese cross with a raised central boss. The cross, measuring 32 centimetres square with a 9 centimetre diameter boss at its centre, suggests the site’s continued religious significance through the medieval period.
The church itself appears to have been a modest structure, measuring 6.8 metres wide internally, though no trace remains of either the east or west gables. A curious sub rectangular projection of the graveyard wall some 9.7 metres to the east might have been associated with the original church building, though its exact purpose remains unclear. The survival of these fragments, along with the recently discovered carved stones, provides a tangible link to Clonleigh’s long history as a sacred site, from its early Christian foundations through the medieval period and beyond.





