Former church site a cherished piece of Drumquin history

Under the watchful eye of Dooish mountain stands the remnants of one of Tyrone’s oldest churches, land-marked by an iconic bell tower that locals in Drumquin know all too well.

St Patrick’s Church and graveyard stood outside the village in Langfield parish for over 160 years, before it succumbed to time and was replaced by a modern church across the road.

Shortly after penal laws eased in 1829, Drumquin Reverend, Arthur Starrs took it upon himself to immediately establish a practicing church for Catholics in the Drumquin area.

However, Rev Starrs was not the first religious figure to take hold of these grounds.

Beforehand, there were existing graves and a primitive wooden structure with a thatched roof used as something of a clandestine place of worship.

During construction of the new church, a Dublin-based architect by the name of Campbell was acquired for its design and construction, which opened its doors in 1832.

It was built using sandstone accumulated from a local quarry and drawn by horse-and-cart to the site where stonemasons from the area carved together foundations to support the new building.

Construction of the grounds cost around £800 and was financed through a series of charity fundraisers.

By procedure, these fundraisers would see ‘special guests’ consisting of highly respected priests come to the parish and deliver a sermon.

Such was the excitement generated by these visitors, the sermons would generate thousands of tickets and the church completely packed out.

Originally, the St Patrick’s site consisted of a bare clay floor with no ceiling between the church-goers and the thatched roof above.

The roof was later replaced by slates and the porch, gallery and belfry added in later years.

Under the guise of Rev Starrs, the first appointment of sacristan was a member of the local Barrett family.

This close family tie would remain until the last sacristan, William McCanney, whose wife was from the same original Barrett family.

In fact, Mr McCanney had an original ticket to the aforementioned fundraising sermons dated back to 1864.

These fundraisers continued into the early 1900s, with enough raised to install the church’s own belfry.

Under the pastorate of Rev Charles Kelly, the St Patrick’s Church saw the erection of the belfry tower and the famous bell that stands above it – which is still there to this day!

These new additions and improvements to the church were recorded in the 1909 directory with stables, curacy and a parochial hall expanding the presence of the site, though the belfry wouldn’t be complete until the late 1920s.

For many years, the daily sermons and sacramental Sundays proved traditional for the local parishioners, for village life went hand-in-hand with religious devotion.

During its history, the church witnessed major events in the religious sphere, including two Vatican Councils, apparitions at Lourdes, Knock, and Fatima, and the election of Pope John Paul II and his visit to Ireland in 1979.

By now, the end of the church was near.

As St Patrick’s celebrated 160 years of service, the building was ravaged by the passage of time.

Discussions on a new church for local parishioners had actually been underway since the 1960s.

The old church, weathered and on the verge of collapse, finally closed its doors in September 1980 due to extensive rainwater damage to the roof.

Whilst the new church building opened nearby that same year, the demolition of the old church wouldn’t occur until 1992.

While the physical structure was dismantled, the surrounding walls, graveyard, and the iconic bell tower, with its historic bell, stayed intact.

With the remains of so many local people resting in its graveyard, the old church site is still an important part of the Drumquin community.

During the first lockdowns in 2020, a poignant moment harking back to bygone years took place at the church site.

Encouraged to clap for the NHS and emergency services, the people of Drumquin decided to show their appreciation in a unique way.

When local man, Liam Mimnagh rang the historic bell from within the belfry, a resounding sense of nostalgia echoed throughout the village, as many parishioners remembered the old St Patrick’s Church.