Graveyard, Kiltooris, Co. Donegal
Near the western shore of Kiltooris Lough in County Donegal, a modest stone church sits quietly amongst rough pasture, surrounded by a graveyard dotted with modern headstones.
Graveyard, Kiltooris, Co. Donegal
This unassuming structure once served as a chapel of ease to the parish church on nearby Inishkeel island, providing a more accessible place of worship for local parishioners who found the journey to the island church increasingly difficult.
The chapel’s importance grew considerably in 1622 when church authorities, recognising the challenges posed by Inishkeel’s isolation, decided that regular parish services should be held here instead. For just over a century, this small church served as the spiritual centre for the local community, offering a practical solution to the geographical barriers that separated many from their original parish church.
By 1724, however, the focus of religious life shifted once again when a new church dedicated to St James was built at Narin, and services were transferred there. Today, the old church at Kiltooris stands as a reminder of how rural Irish communities adapted their religious practices to the realities of their landscape; its surrounding graveyard still in active use, connecting past and present through generations of local families who have worshipped and been laid to rest in this peaceful corner of Donegal.