The church owes its existence to Sir Richard Hansard, whose will provided for its construction, with foundations laid by 1622. This original structure has long since been transformed, and what visitors see today is largely the product of late 18th century renovations that gave the church its current appearance.

The church sits within its own graveyard, creating a peaceful enclave that has served the local community for four centuries. Architectural historian Alistair Rowan, writing in 1979, noted the building’s late Georgian character, which masks its earlier origins. This layering of architectural periods is typical of Irish ecclesiastical buildings, where successive generations have adapted and rebuilt churches to suit changing tastes and needs, often preserving only fragments of earlier structures within later rebuilds.

The site represents a continuity of worship spanning from the early plantation period through to the present day. Sir Richard Hansard’s original bequest came at a time of significant change in Ulster, as English and Scottish settlers were establishing new communities throughout the province. The church that emerged from his patronage would have served these new arrivals whilst the later Georgian remodelling reflects the area’s growing prosperity and confidence in the late 1700s, when many of Ireland’s finest buildings were constructed or renovated in the fashionable classical style of the period.