| Church Ruins
© Kilquane church ruin
Prior to the building of the present church in Parteen village
in 1835, the church was situated between the present village and Kilquane
graveyard. This church was built around 1704 and dedicated to St Patrick.
No trace of the building remains standing today.
Before the building of the present day church in Meelick,
there was a thatched chapel in Mountgordon at the foot of Brennan's Hill.
No trace of this chapel now remains.
There is a church ruin in the townland of Kilquane. This
church was ruined in the 17th century when it was destroyed during the
Confederate Wars. However the first church on this site is believed to
have dated from the 7th or 8th century. In 'The History & Folklore
of Parteen and Meelick' by Dónal Ó Riain and Seámas
Ó Cinnéide, the authors suggest that the original church
may have been the place of worship of the local aristocratic family.
Kilquane means the church of Cúan and mass is believed
to have been celebrated here from the 10th century. With the building
of the new church in Parteen in 1834, Kilquane started to fall into decay
and all that remains is a small part of one wall of the church, which
is covered in ivy.
The church ruin is not visible from the roadside but it
is accessible through a roadway on the land of the Holmes family. Mass
is usually celebrated once a year at the site on August 15th, weather
permitting. The church ruin is about ½ mile south of Parteen village.
Locals also claim that there was an old church called
Sean Chill that was located on Heffernan's land.
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