School: St Columba's, Cloonagh, Granard (roll number 12813)
- Location:
- Cloonagh, Co. Longford
- Teacher: Peter O'Reilly
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0762, Page 304
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- (continued from previous page)first lime and the best and won the prize.
I heard from Mrs McCabe of Cloonagh an old lady of 82 that her mother often told her that the Church before this was near the present one but nearer to the Kilmore road. It was a long thatched church and very wide as the congregation was large. It had one wooden altar and some statues. There was no separation in the inside and no sacristy: the priest put on the vestments at the side of the altar. The congregation knelt on the clay floor during Mass and when the church needed repairs the people brought straw and the thatchers did their work free also.
The old road that this church was near is called the Kilmore road although the road for 1/8 of mile is in the townland of Cloonagh and the oldest person never heard any other name given it and it appears that what is known as the townland of Kilmore now, extended in early times to beyond the boundary of this old church. Kill mor = big church.
I heard from Mr John Kiernan of Cloonagh that his grandfather was a member of the choir in the old thatched Church. A Mr Coyle played a flute. His father sang in the present Church and a Mr McNestney played a fiddle.
When a member of the choir died it was the custom(continues on next page)
