Appendix M
page 316
Subsidy Roll, 1663.Termont m'Guirk Pearish. Pounds s. d.
Sir William USSHER for Rent 09 00 00
M'GINES for Rent 04 10 00
James DULAP for Stock, 09 06 00
John ANDERSON do. 05 14 00
William GIBENS alias GIVAN do 04 08 00
Thomas DULAP do 01 10 00
Henry KENADY do 07 06 00
James PEERY do 08 14 00
John WILSON do 03 05 00
John SEMPELL do 06 15 00
Donel o CORLE do 06 07 00
James HEGGAN do 03 10 00
Patrick o CORLE do 04 10 00
Manas m'KINGLEY do 05 10 00
James o DIVIN do 04 05 00
Alexander m'CASLIN do 07 00 00
George ANDERSON do 02 00 00
The severall sumes charged upon the inhabitants of Omagh barony, amounteth unto the sume of Three hundred and Twenty Pounds, and is payable by Humphry ENETT, esq.
Signed, Tho. GOLBORNE William COORE James HANE
Tithes.
Barony of Omeigh.
Names of Parishes. / Present Tenants./ Rent Reserved. Pounds s. d.
Termonmaguirk Humphry GALBRAITH 029 05 00
Dromragh William LARKANE 005 17 00
Drommore Lt. Arth. NEWBURGH 002 18 06
Magherycron Andrew HAMILTON 001 00 06
Kilskeery Qr.-Mr. John BRITTON 001 14 01
---------------
040 15 10
Barony of Strabane.
Badony Lieut. Arth. NEWBURGH 033 07 10
Cappy Lieut. Alex CASLAN* 019 10 00
Ardstra Lieut. Wm. HAMILTON 049 14 06
Camos Benjamin ASH 023 16 00
Urney Capt. Oliver ANCKTILL 034 02 06
Leckpatricke John LESLY 025 07 00
Donnoghkiddy Qr.-Mr. John BRITTON 078 00 00
---------------
263 17 10
* Elsewhere M'CASLAN. He leased the glebes of Cappy.
page 317
Gleabs. Barrony of Omeigh.
Denomination of Name of Parish Present Tenant Rents Reserved.
Gleab Land. to which they belong. Pounds...s...d.
.
Aldraman, =
Mologhlany, = Termonmaguirk Humphry GALBRAITH, 004 07 09
Clogherhy, & Templemoile,=
&c, &c, &c, &c,
The foregoing Tithes and Gleabes are charged in the account of Samuel HILL, receiver, at Londonderry, ending the 20th May, 1657.
Church Lands.
Barrony of Omeigh.
Denomination of Lands /Former Proprietor / Present Tenant / Parish to /Rent Reserved.
/ which Lands belong./ pounds s d
Aghanree and Tyroony See of Derry Matthew COMBE Termonmaghey 001 19 00
Sheerdrum See of Derry Wm. HAMILTON Cappy 000 17 06
Rascasan, two Sessiogs See of Derry Lt. Arth. NUBURGH Cappy 000 10 00
page 318 APPENDIX M.
The following notes respecting the Parish of TERMONMAGUIRK, are extracted from a series of papers by the Rev.R.V. DIXON,d.d., published in the "Parish Magazine" of 1860 and 1861. (Edited by the Rev. Erskine CLARKE, m.a., Vicar of St. Michaels, Derby):--------
In the course of his introductory remarks, the writer says:------
"The district would appear never to have been a fertile one. Two hundred years ago, the greater part of its hills were probably overgrown with heather; whilst the hollows between them were filled with bog. At an earlier, but probably not very remote period, the whole country seems to have been covered with a forest, in which oaks and firs attained a considerable size, and which contained also extensive clumps of hazel and yew, and smaller trees. The holms of the rivers alone, probably, furnished good arable or pasture land. Such a district offered small attractions to settlers at a time when the whole population of the island was small, and the resources of the richest and most fertile portions of it were but imperfectly developed."
"Two localities in the district-------one in the present parish of Clogherny----the other in Termonmaguirk, are connected with the names of Patrick and Columbkille; and it is highly probable that the Churches of Donaghanie and Termonmaguirk, owe their origin to those saints, or to some of their earliest disciples. The existence, too, of the extensive Church lands of Termonmaguirk, from which the parish derives its name, when coupled with the local traditions connected with Columbkille, renders it probable that a religious house of some extent existed here at an early period, to the support of whose inmates these lands were dedicated by the piety of some ancient chief."
The head of a religious house was called an Abbot, and also, the Coarb, i.e., the successor of the founder. In the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries, the heads of these houses were often laymen. The office was frequently hereditary according to the custom of Tanistry, by which the inheritance of a chief did not necessarily pass to his son, but to some person selected by the family or clan during the chief's lifetime, and who was called the Tanist.
The church or churches attached to these places of worship served for the neighbourhood, but were not parish churches; for the division of the country into dioceses and parishes, was only effected by authority of the Church of rome in the 12th century. The lands assigned for the support of these establishments were called Termon lands. If no right of sanctuary existed, they were called Erenagh lands. The successor to the founder of a house of minor importance, was called, not a Coarb, but an Erenagh. There were female Coarbs and Erenaghs, such as Bridgid and others.
The lands were generally farmed under the superintendence of the Coarb or Erenagh, by a sept or clan, for the benefit of the house to which they belonged. The clan frequently gave their name to the Termon; hence Termon Maguirk was so called because the sept of the MAQUIRKS for some time before the plantation of Ulster, farmed the Termon lands. This was not, however, the original name of the Termon.
The present parish church stands at the entrance of the village of Carrickmore, and was erected at the beginning of the present century. "Higher up the hill, stand the remains of an older (Protestant) church, built after the settlement of Ulster, about the beginning of the 17th century, surrounded by a burial ground, now used exclusively, I believe by Roman Catholics, and close by, is the Roman Catholic Chapel, a modern structure, situated nearly on the highest point of the hill, and forming a conspicuous object in the landscape for miles around."
"No trace whatever remains of any of the buildings connected with the original Termon, nor does any local tradition record their existence, or their site. Some singular burial places, evidently of great antiquity, and some sacred wells, to which we will afterwards refer more particularly, alone remains to attest the early existence of a religious settlement in this locality."
The earliest tradition which attributes the establishment of this Termon to Columbkille, is found in a life of the saint, written in Irish, by O'DONNELL, a prince of Tirconnell, about A.D.,1520.
page 319 APPENDIX M. continued.
Only some fragments are extant of the Irish original, one of which, preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, contains the portion which records the tradition. It is ther called, Termon-Cuiminigh, and the similarity of this name to Termon_Comyn, which this Termon bore as late as the 17th century, renders it highly probable that it is identical with the modern Termonmaguirk. A circumstance connected with the tradition, converts this probability into a certainty.
"The account of the establishment of the Termon given by O'DONNELL, is as follows:-------
'On a certain occasion, that Columbkille was in the place called at this day Termon-Cuiminigh, in Tyrone, he consecrated that place, and gave it a Termon for ever after. And he struck three strokes of his crozier into the hill, and a well sprung in the place of each one of them. And he spoke through the spirit of prophecy, and said, that DONNELL the son of Aeddh (Hugh), that is, the King of Erinn, and the race of Conall along with him, would come to the Termonn, and the hosts would commit great defilements there, and that himself would be at that time in Scotland, and that it would be a pity for the descendants of Conall to injure or harm the Termon, whilst himself was in perpetual exile from Erinn. And he said that he would obtain from God, that the King of Erinn should be filled with disease and debility, and that none of them should possess the strength of a woman. . . . on that occassion, until the Coarb of the place should have received from the King his full demand for the injury done to the Termonn; and when he had received that, that he should sprinkle some of the water of the wells on the King and his host, and that they would be immediately healed, and that Tobair-na-g-Conallach (that is wells of the descendants of Conall) should be the name of these wells for ever after, in commemoration of this great miracle. All this prophecy was fulfilled in all things.'
Now there is a well in the immediate vicinity of Carrickmore, in a field near the corner of the road, leading to Lough Macrory, which bears to this day the name of Tobar-na-craobh-Conallach, or well of the branch (that is, race), of the descendants of Connall. And this fact is at once interesting as proving the fidelity with which the Irish names of localities are preserved (in Irish speaking districts), even without documentary aid, and important as establishing decisively the identity of our Termon with the Termon-Cuiminigh of O'Donnell." (*Diocese of Derry)
Ireland was divided into dioceses and parishes in the twelfth century, and the Parish of Termon Cuiminigh was constituted before the end of the 13th century------ how long before it is not known.
The first mention of it occurs in a valuation of the benefices of the diocese of Armagh, made between 1291 and 1306, for the purposes of a papal taxation, generally known by the name of Pope Nicholas' taxation. The original record of this valuation is still extant, in one of the record offices in London. The parish isentered by the name of Termeconym, and its annual value is stated to be two marks, or One Pound, Six Shillings and Eight Pence; one-tenth part of which, or Two Shillings and Eight Pence, was the amount of the tax assessed.
The parish had both a Rector and a Vicar; both appointed by a Prebend of Armagh. The Rectory was originally a Prebend of Armagh, until the seventeenth century, when the Prebends, were reduced from sixteen, to the present number, four.
From the inquistion above quoted, we learn that the Rector received two third parts of the tithes, and the Vicar one third part of all the parish, except the townland of Donaghaine-----Donaghaine was about seven Irish miles South West of Carrickmore, and on it until a recent period, stood the remains of a Church called Donagh-a-nie, ot the Church of the Horse, which, like all the other Donaghs in Ireland, is said to have been founded by St. Patrick. The church, with its adjacent churchyard (which was in 1860, and may still be), used as a place of internment, stood on top of a low, round, drift hill, overlooking a bog, in which is a small lake, called Lough Patrick. The surrounding townland, belonged, in the seventeenth century, to the See of Clogher, and before that was the property of some religious house, probably the Abbey of Clogher.
page 320 APPENDIX M. Continued.
The following legendary account of the origin of the church is current in the neighbourhood.
"It happened one time, that Patrick was in Drumconnelly, (a townland in the parish of Drumragh,* on the borders of Clogherny, ), and he was travelling towards the place now called Donagh-a-nie, and he met a man with a horse who told him that it was not safe for him to go any further in that direction, on account of a Peist (pronounced Pastia), a gigantic eel, or water serpent, which frequented a lake about a mile off, and which destroyed all men and cattle which came within its suckage. And Patrick said to the man, 'If you lend me your horse, I will enable him, by the power of God I serve, to destroy the Peist'; and the man lent him his horse. And Patrick, went on until he came to the top of the hill over the lough, and he ordered the horse to go down and destry the Peist; and the horse made three leaps, and in the last he leaped into the lough; and he drove the Peist out of it. And the Peist fled along the watercourse out of the lough, until it came to an Esker; and then it fled along the top of the Esker----and its track may still be seen; and at the end of the Esker is a small round gravel hill, and the Peist went round and round this hill, trying to burrow into it and escape the horse, but the horse killed it then----And the horse went back to Patrick, full of wrath and fury, and he was so fierce and violent, that the Saint feared he would do some mischief, and he ordered him to go into the lough, and to stay there until the day of the judgement. And the horse is still there; and there are men living who believe they have seen him. And Patrick built a church on the top of the hill where he stood, to commemorate this event, and to remind the people of the power of God, who enabled his servant to work this great deliverance for them. And the church is called Donagh-a-nie, or the church of the horse."
* It has a tower now.
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To return to the tithes-----The tithes of wool, corn, fish, and flax were paid in kind; for every milch cow, 4d. was paid, and for every herd of swine, one pork. The Archbishop of Armagh received a rent of 34s. and 10d. out of the Termon lands, with ten methers of butter, and fines for bloodshed.
It appears (from an inquisition held at Dungannon in 1609), that in addition to the parish church, there was a chapel of ease, called "Templemoyleneclogherny," * that is, the bare, or bald church, of Clogherny, so called, either because it had no tower, or because it was, at that time, roofless. This church now forms the parish church of Clogherny," * whose side walls are part of the original edifice. The general use of the appellation Templemoyle seems to show that the church was regarded as ancient in 1609. To this chapel was attached a sessiagh of glebe called Clogherny, which appears originally to have formed a part of the townland of Laragh. Or rather the two denominations seem to have formed the townland of Durachrigh, or Dericriagh, of the original Patent (in connexion with the Plantation of Ulster), and of the map of 1609.
The following is an abstract of all the entries relative to this parish which occur in the Primatial Registries, for which the writer of the articles from which I draw my information, is indebted to the learned antiquarian and church historian, Dr. REEVES:---------
"1367, June 9th. Intelligence was this day conveyed to the Primate (Archbp. Sweetman), at his manor of Termonfeckin,( This is a few miles from Drogheda) of the death of Neal M'CAMAL, Rector of Termonayncomayn; and the Primate, fearing, it would seem, that the Chiefs of the Irish clans in the neighbourhood, would intrude some follower of their own into the benefice, if it lay long vacant, immediately collated Maurice O'CASSIDY, canon of the Cathedral church of Armagh, to the rectory."
[The reason assigned here for the Primate's haste in filling up the vacancy, joined to the fact, that seventy years afterwards we find a John M'KATHMAYLE or M'CAMAL holding the prebend, apparently without the entire approval of the Primate of his day, suggests the suspicion that the Irish Chiefs in the neighbourhood wished to make the rectory hereditary in some of their own families, as the old Coarbships and Erenaghies had been, and still were.]
"1412.----Memorandum, that Dermot M'gork hath a deed of the lands of Achrych Duesk, Molynmor, and Molynbeg (Craignadevesky, Mullinmor and Mullinbeg), 'in our Lordship of Termon,' dated 12th day of January, 1412.
1428.----In an old schedule of the Primates, "Redditus". or "Revenues of the See," about this date, under the head of "Redditus de Tullaghogue," occurs the entry "De Termonconnyn------Pounds 0. 17s. 5d." Exactly one-half of the sum returned in the inquisition of 1609.
1435.----July 19, Denis O'Lucheran collated to the Vicarage of Termonconnyn, vacant by the death of Dermot M'Gwyrk.
1441.----In a list of the beneficed clergy in the rural deanery of Tullaghoge, occur John M'Kathmayl (M'Camul or M'Cawell) rector of Argull (Errigle Keerogue), (This parish adjoins Termonmaguirk ) and prebendary of Termon. John M'Girre, vicar of Termon.
+ This is a few miles from Drogheda.
.
1441.----May 19,.----A definitive sentence in "causa beneficiale," pronounced against certain members of the Chapter of Armagh, and among them,"also against you, John M'Kathmayl, who claim to be canon of our cathedral church of Armagh, and prebendary of Termon, in the same, and also rector of Argull, in our collation and diocese."
1441. November 2.---- A complaint for non-residence at Argull, preferred against John M'Kathmayl.
1442. December 1.----Memorandum of a proposed exchange of the churches and Erenaghies of Argull, Termon, and Cillessill (Errigle, Keerogue, Termoncomyn, and Killeshill), in the diocese of Armagh, for the church and erenaghy of Mucnaue (Mucknoe or Castleblaney), in the diocese of clogher, agreed upon between Primate Swayne and Peter, Bishop of Clogher. The exchange, however, doed not seem to have been made.
1445. November 21.----Excommunication, amongst others, of John M'Kathmayl, for not paying the archdeacon his proxies; and also of Percy M'Couralton, vicar of Termon.
1469.----Notice of the proceedings in the case of acharge (substance not stated), brought by Charles Magoirce (M'Guirk), clerk, against John Magirr, vicar of Termon.
1544, July 24.----Collation of William Sloddan to the rectory or prebend of the parish church of St.(the name lost), of Termonmagwyrke, vacant by the death of Bernard Negwynsynan."
After the collation occurs the following memorandum:---
"The aforesaid William hath promised with an oath, to serve in the cathedraland metropolitan
church of Armagh, on account of the aforesaid prebend, or to reside in the aforesaid rectory or
prebend, in presence of the Most Reverend (the Primate), the day and year aforesaid." From a
report, dated 1622, on the "State of the Dioceses in the Province of Ulster, certified under the hands
of the Bishop of each Diocese," a copy of which is in Trinity College Library, it appears that the Incumbent of Termonmaguirk at that time, was "Roger BLYTHE, Master of Arts." He is stated to be "non-resident, but goeth every third Sunday himselfe, and keepeth a curate, Danyell HICKES,
brought up in the college, and readeth Irish and English, to whom he giveth 10 Pounds per annum,
the living itself was worth 60 Pounds a year.There was a parsonage house, built upon the glebe, and a "church in building". The archbishop according to the report was the patron, and he nominated
Mr. BLYTHE, so that probably Lord and Lady Castlehaven had not yet exercised their right of
patronage. In a visitation book, preserved in the Prerogative Court in Dublin, and at least six years later in date, Sir P. CROSBY was said to be the patron, and the living worth 80 Pounds a year. Mr. BLYTHE was still rector, but the curate was Mr. James BOYKE."
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Primatial Registries. Continued.
"In the description of the parish, accompanying the map of it given in the famous Down survey, executed by Sir W. Petty, * in 1657, we find the following:----
"There are standing in the parish two churches (that is), one at Ballinecreg, and another at Clogherny Temple; and a noted house upon the road from Dungannon to the Omey + called Six Mile Crosse. The rivers of Camowen and Drumlester runne through the parish; likewise the rivers Owenne Coggneeght, and Druran, and the brooke Dromnakill water the borders thereof." The brooke, Drumnakill, is the stream which separates the townlands of Drumnakilly and Brackey, and runs into what was then called the Drumlester, but now the Camowen River (Revised Ordnance Maps). The Druran (evidently a corruption of Deroran) was the portion of the Drumlester, from its junction with the "Drumnakill" to its junction with the Cooley, or Clogfin river. The Owen ne Coggreeght is the stream now called the Routing Burn, which separates on the south the parish of Clogherny from that of Clogher. It also forms the boundary, in part of its course, between the baronies of Omagh and Clogher, and the diocese of Armagh and Clogher; hence its name, which signifies in Irish, "the boundary river."
In the barony map of this Survey, the first church referred to above is names the "Church in Aghmarny;" in the parish map it is shown as standing in the townland of "Ballinecreg, alias Aghmarney." This is evidently the church which, in 1622, was "in building", and, from its position in the maps was clearly the church whose ruins are now standing near the Roman Catholic chapel above Carrickmore. These ruins, then, are of a Protestant place of worship; and the evidence of this fact, furnished by the documents and maps I have referred to, is confirmed by the circumstance, that down to a very recent period, the rectors of Termonmaguirke were inducted into the living in the burial-ground surrounding those ruins.
* An ancestor of the Marquess of Lansdowne.
+ Omey is now spelt Omagh.
We learn from the Registry of Primate BOYLE that the chancel of this church was destroyed in the wars of 1688".
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The townland on which the old church of Termon, which was built in 1622, stood, was then called Ballinacreg (or more correctly Ballinacraig) or Aghmarny. The former name is preserved in Rockstown, which is still the name of the upper part of the hill of Carrickmore. In the old vestry books, frequent reference is made to these ruins, and the surrounding burial-ground; and so late as 1819, we find an entry of the assessment of 20 Pounds, "to assist in slating the chapel at Termon old church."
In 1773, shortly after the division of the parish by Lord Tyrone and Robert LOWRY, an effort was made to have the site of Termon church transferred to Sixmilecross. "At a vestry, held on the 13th January in that year, and attended by Mr. HOWELL, the rector, and several of the Protestant parishioners, a petition to the Primate was agreed upon, in which it was stated, 'that the parish church was in a very dilapidated state. That a new church might be built at less expense than the old one could be repaired. That its situation was very inconvenient to the old Protestant parishioners. That Sixmilecross would be much more convenient to them, and that Mr LOWRY had offered land for a site in that town, and had further assured the parishioners, that the Reverend Archdeacon Charles D’ESTE, the late rector, would, at his own proper charge and expense, erect and build a convenient church in the said townland, and petitioners accordingly prayed the Primate to sanction the proposed change of site.' The prayer of the petition was not granted. But a church was built at Sixmilecross from private funds, without tower or chancel, and roofed with shingles, and from the frequency of repairs voted at vestries, it was apparently very badly built. It stood on the north side of the street of the town, near the present market-house. The old church at Carrickmore was allowed to fall into ruins. This change of site was probably effected by Mr. LOWRY, who owned the whole parish, except the Termon lands. Lord Tyrone, the patron, and the absentee lessees of the Termon lands, were probably indifferent.
The change of site however had never been sanctioned by the Primate, and when the Rev. Hugh STEWART became lessee of the Termon lands in 1770, and exerted himself in procuring the rebuilding of the parish church near the old site, the authorities approved of the project, and in 1786, the Board of First Fruits made a grant of 500 Pounds, for the purpose. Not so, however, the Protestant parishioners. At a vestry held on April 16th, 1786, they resolved "That the church reported to be built by Mr. STEWART in Termon, is very inconvenient to the people of this parish in regard of situation; and we also are determined not to attend the same, or repair it when built; and we also empower the churchwardens to report the same to Mr. STEWART and Mr. STAPLES (the rector)."
A subsequent vestry held in September 16th (whose acts were confirmed by another more numerously attended on the 27th October), agreed to petition the Lord Lieutenant (the Duke of Rutland) and the Privy Council, to the effect that the parish church had been in ruins from time immemorial, and was situate in a remote part of the parish. That Sixmilecross would be a much more convenient site. 'That Lord Tyrone and the Primate (Lord Rokeby) had consented to the change, and that Lord Belmore had conveyed an acre of land to the churchwardens for the site. They accordingly prayed his Grace and their lordships, to make an order for the change of site.
page 325
The advocates of the old site replied, that it was not correct to say that the church had been in ruins from time immemorial, as it was not quite one hundred years since the chancel had been burnt, and only fifty since there had been a question of repairing it. That the site was central, not remote, whilst Sixmilecross was on the very edge of the parish; that Lord Tyrone and the Primate had given no consent, for they had never been consulted about the change of the site; nor had Lord Belmore made any such conveyance of land for a site.
The result was that the present church in Carrickmore was commenced. It was completed in 1792, and opened for divine service in the next year, but was not consecrated till 1822. For several years after it was opened, divine service was celebrated in it and at Sixmilecross on alternate Sundays. In the year 1811, however, Sixmilecross church became so ruinous, that it was necessary to close it. The materials were sold by auction in three lots. Mr. S. HALL bought the flags for 2 Pounds 12s. The rector, Mr. BERESFORD bought the roof for 6 Pounds, and the walls, seats, &c., were bought by the Rev. Mr. BROWN, the Presbyterian minister for 9 Pounds 10s. This was the church in which the late Primate used to officiate, when rector of Termon..
It is not known when either the house mentioned in 1609, as belonging to the vicar, or the "parsonage house built uppon the gleabe," mentioned in "The State of the Church in 1622," stood. At the beginning of the century there was no glebe house. In 1807 the Rev. Dr. Henry STEWART, having obtained authority to build a glebe house in Altdrummond, commenced the work by the erection of office houses, in Streefe; but in 1810 his successor Mr. BERESFORD obtained permission from the Primate, to change the site to the more central one, on which Termon rectory was subsequently built. This house, being considered by the Representative Body to be too large for the parish under its present altered circumstances, now that the church had been disestablished, has recently been sold to the Rev. S. ALEXANDER, the late Rector
Although the site of the parish church is central, it is by no means so as regards the distribution of the Protestant parishioners. About 1830, steps were taken by the inhabitants of Sixmilecross to procure another church there. Arrangements were made, whereby divine service was for the next five years celebrated in the Presbyterian meeting-house, placed by the congregation at the Rector's disposal, at an hour before the one usual for their own service on Sundays. In 1834, Lord Belmore made a grant of a site for a churchyard, close to the town; and a church was built with funds, obtained from the Board of First Fruits, and consecrated in September, 1836. A district was subsequently annexed to it, comprising fourteen townlands of Termonmaguirk, five of Clogherny, and five of Erriglekeerogue. This was constituted a distinct incumbency under the name of Cooley, by an order of the Privy Council in 1837. The Reverend Andrew CHRISTIE was the first incumbent; he was succeeded by the Reverend Mr.BELL. After the Church was disestablished, Mr. BELL, "compounded" and resigned, and the parish went as it is called "upon the diocesan scheme" with an income of 250 Pounds a year. It was one of the very few parishes whose income was largely increased by "disestablishment," having previously not exceeded 110 Pounds a yar. The Rev. W.R.WEIR succeeded Mr. BELLin 1871; upon his death after but a short incumbency, he was succeeded by the Rev. Robert O'LOGHLEN, in 1877. The parsonage house was built about 1859.
page 326
In 1843, the Rev. Mr. BERESFORD procured the building (by subscriptions), of a third church in Drumnakilly, on a site granted by the late Alexander M'CAUSLAND, Esq. A residence was also built for the minister. Drumnakilly now forms a separate incumbency.
After the division of the parish in 1733, the ancient chapel-of-ease at Clogherny Temple became the parish church of Clogherny. The north and south walls of the aisles are the only parts of the original fabric now remaining. The tower was built by the late Rector, Rev. James LOWRY, and the gallery by his father and predecessor, the Rev. John LOWRY, at his own expense for the use of the rector. During the progress of some extensive repairs in 1855, which cost 600 pounds, nearly entirely defrayed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the removal of the plaster revelaed traces of numerous doors and windows, which had been opened in the walls again. Some of the lintels being deeply charred, showed that at some time in its history the church had been burnt; its whole interior had also been used as a place of interment. This was probably after it had been burnt and whilst it was roofless. When this was, it is not known. But as has already been shown it was in 1609, known as Templemoyle, the bare church.
The original churchyard was limited to the area enclosed by the sycamore trees still standing on it. It was enlarged to its present extent by the Rev. John LOWRY.
On the other side of the parish is a chapel-of-ease at Seskinore. Before this was built service was performed in the schoolhouse here, in the afternoon, whenever there was service in Clogherny Church.
The rectory house was built by the Rev. John LOWRY in 1778 and enlarged by his son the Rev. James LOWRY in 1830. He also gave it the name of Somerset. It is so large as to be quite useless to future incumbents with the diminished income of 250 pounds a year and has been purchased with its surrounding grounds, from the Representative Body, by the present rector.
There are three Presbyterian meeting houses in the two parishes of Termon and Clogherny, situate in the townlands of Dervaghroy, Sixmilecross and Seskinore. From a stone in the one at Dervaghroy, bearing the date 1720, it would seem that the orignal house was of that date. Some people say it stood on a field at Laragh, called Meeting- house Field.
On the 24th July 1776 Armar Lowry Corry (subsequently Lord Belmore) made a grant of two roods of land in Dervaghroy, as lately laid out by James FENTON, of Raw, to Thomas GLEDSTANES, of Ferdross Esq., Samuel PERRY, of Mullaghmore and E HEMPHILL of Laragh, gentlemman, at a yearly rent of 10s, in trust for the dissenting congrgation of the parish of Clogherny. The minister was, within three years, to enclose the same with a ditch five feet deeo and six feet wide, and plant the same with hawthorn quiicks and forest trees, and build a gate and stone pillars. The hedge was to be neatly clipped and the place always kept in decent condition. If this was not done, the agreement was to be void and Amar Lowry Corry and his heirs might re-enter.
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The church is said to have been built about 1770. The first minister was the Rev. Joseph HEMPHILL, nephew of a person of the same name, who, in conjunction with another Scotchman named SCOTT, took a lease of Laragh soon after the siege of Derry. Mr. HEMPHILL's stipend was 9 Pounds a year, with an allowance of oats for his horse. The Rev. Mr. SCOTT, the next minister, was killed in a mysterious manner in 1780, in or near the village of Seskinore, as he was returning home from Fintona, in company with some volunteers, of which body he was an active member.
The Rev. James KERR succeeded Mr. SCOTT. He was minister for over forty-two years. In his time, a slated roof replaced the thatched one, and a gallery was built. The next minister was the Rev. Archibald ARMSTRON, ordained about 1823. The roof was renewd during his incumbency, and an additional gallery built, increasing the accomodation to 350 sittings. The union between the synod of Ulster and the Seceding Body, having been effected in 1840, the congregation was transferred from the Presbytery of Clogher to that of Omagh. Mr. ARMSTRONG on his death, was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph M'ASKIE, who was ordained on the 10th September, 1850.
In 1859, the church was enlarged, and an additional gallery built in 1861. The church will accomodate 500 persons. In 1861, the congregation consisted of 280 families, residing in the parishes of Clogherny, Termonmaguirk, Errikgle-keerogue, Clogher, and Drumragh.
[The Rev. Samuel COCHRANE, the present minister, ws appointed in 1865. A few years ago, a grant for 999 years of a site, for a manse was made by the author, at a yearly rent of 3 Pounds, 3s.]
The Sixmilecross congregation was originally connected with the Seccession, or Associated Synod of Ireland, and had for its first stated minister (before 1776), the Rev. James DICKSON, afterwards minister of Sandholes. The congregation met for worship, first in the house of Mr. PEEBLES, of Beragh Cornmill. Between 1786 and 1790, they built a meeting- house in Sixmilecross, towards which the vestry of the parish of Termonmaguirk voted 10 Pounds, on the 5th June, 1786. This was a thatched house, with an earthen floor, and large turf sods for seats.
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The Rev. Lewis BROWN, who had on the 8th January, 1788, been ordained in the Seceding congregation, in Moss-lane, Dublin, and had laboured in that city, became in 1791, or rather later, Mr. DICKSON's successor at Sixmilecross. Whilst at the latter place, he also officiated in (1) Glendavah, now Ballymagrane, parish of Carnteel; (2) Drumlegagh, now known as Second Ardstraw; (3) Glenboy or Longridge, parish of Clogher; amd (4) Aughentain, parish of Clogher. After his removal to sandholes, each of these preaching stations obtained separate ministers.
After an active ministry of about forty-five years, Mr. BROWN became superannuated. The congregation, could not, for some time, agree upon the choice of a minister, but at last the Rev. Wm. Stewart HAZLETT was appointed assistant and successor to Mr. BROWN. Having received a call from the congregation of Second Strabane, Mr. HAZLETT was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas H. JUNK, the present minister, who was ordained May 1st, 1845.
Mr. HAZLETT, died in the same year, at Strabane. Mr.BROWN died in 1851, aged 91, having been for several years Father of the General Assembly.
The present meeting-house was built in 1846, at a cost of over 600 Pounds. There is pew accomodation for about 350 persons. The congregation in 1861 consisted of 110 families.
[A new Manse has been erected of late years, on a site near the meeting-house, for which a 999 year's lease has been granted by the author at a yearly rent of one pound 10.].
The meeting- house, at Seskinore, was built in 1827. When the congregation was forst formed it consisted of fifty families. The Rev. R. GRAHAM was the first minister. He was succeeded in 1852 by the Rev. Joseph SMITH. During his ministry the church was nearly entirely rebuilt and enlarged to accommodate 300 persons. Ther are 150 families in connexion.
During the time of the penal laws, which were repealed between 1788 and 1829, the Roman Catholics were not allowed to erect any buildings for public worship. In the Roman Catholic Church, Termonmaguirk was divded into two parishes, viz, Termonmaguirk and Ballintacken,----or as it is now called, Beragh. The congregations met to worship at altars in the open air. One such altar was still in 1861 in use at Altamuskan, in the neighbouring parish of Errigle-keerogue. These stations still retain the names of Altar Field, or Mass Hill, or their Irish equivalents. There were two in the lower part of Clogherny-Slave, one at Carrickmore, another ar Drumduff, and probably others. It was equally illegal to celebrate mass at these stations, as in a building, but it was usually not taken notice of by the authorities. When, however, a gentleman residing near Clogherny-Slave became, some generations ago, a magistrate, it is said that the stations there, in consequence of their proximity to his residence, were discontinued.
The first chapel in Carrickmore was built about 1786, when a sum of 10 Pounds was voted by the Vestry of Termonmaguirk for the purpose. A large new chapel was built about 1846. The chapel at Loughnacrory was built in 1833, that at Creggan, a year or two after.These three chapels are in the Roman Catholic Parish of Termonmaguirk.
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The chapel at Beragh was commenced in the first year of the present century. It has been trpaired and enlarged at several periods since. [Of late years some large schools have been built adjoining it, which are under the National Board. The burial-ground has also had an addition made to it, to be used if required, under the same grant as the site of the schools.] The chapel of 1839 was built in 1839, to replace the altar station, which until that time had stood in the same townland. As long ago as 1802, a sum of 10 Pounds was voted by the Vestry of Termonmaguirk, "towards building a Mass house, towards the Drumduff end of this parish, to be paid to the Right Honorable Attorney-General's (Sir John STEWART) hands to be applied for said purpose."
The chapel at Seskinore was originally a dwelling-house in the village, which was purchased by the congregation in 1839, and immediately afterwards enlarged and fitted up as a place of public worship. The last three chapels are in the Roman Catholic parish of Beragh.
The population of Termonmaguirk, was as follows;----
In 1780.----Housekeepers, R.C., 414; Presbyterian, 58, E.C., * 52.
In 1808.----Families, E.C., 110.
In 1810-1818 (exact date uncertain).----Families, R.C., 1,123; Presbyterian and other Protestant Dissenters, 185; E.C., 145.
In 1832.----Individuals, E.C., 1,595 or 310 families.
In 1861.----Families (including all the Cooley district lying in other parishes), E.C. 346.
In the thirty years ending 1861, the population had been nearly stationary. In the proceeding fifty, it had increased sixfold.
The total number of E.C. children baptized in the 30 years ending 1861, were----boys, 521; girls, 499; total, 1,020. The burials were only 57 men and 67 women; total, 124.
This great disproportion between baptisms and burials must have been caused by emigration; more men, moreover, emigrating than women.
The number of marriages in the parish church increased greatly after the appointment of the Rev. S. Alexander as Deputy Surrogate, and the consequent facility of obtaining licenses. Many Church Protestants used previously to be married in the Presbyterian meeting-house.
* Established Church.
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E-mail received from Monica Stanway
I was interested to read your extract as relating to Rev James Dickson who moved to Sandholes Church. (the church where my great grandparents were married in 1858)
I have a book on the history of Sandholes church and quote that a Rev Thomas Dickson 'whose name is carved on the date stone on the wall of the old part of the church.
"On the 16th day of May 1764, Mr Thomas Dickson, a student of Down Presbytery was received by the Synod as a probationer and was committed to the Presbytery to be on trials for licensing."
He was ordained in the congregation of Ballymagrane sometime before May 1767. He was very diligent and zealous in extending the new cause of Presbyterianism (the Secession church) and formed new charges. He was installed in the new erection of Aughentain in 1774. Mr Dickson continued to take an interest in Church Extension and was in charge of Sixmilecross and Ardstraw. He was present at the first Synod held in Ireland at Monaghan October 20th 1779. In 1782 Ardstraw petitioned the Synod that Mr Dickson be disannexed from Aughentain and Mullabany (Moolabany). He was recommended to give half his labour to Sixmilecross and half to Ardstraw and Ardstraw promised twenty pounds per annum for half his labours. At the same Synod a collection was ordered for the purpose of erecting a Meeting House at Sixmilecross as reported to Synod at Scarva June 15th 1784." Rev Thomas Dickson had demitted his Charge at Sixmilecross. On 3rd July 1787 at Synod at Garvagh it is reported that the Rev Thomas Dickson was installed at Sandholes where he stayed until his death 31st July 1816.'
The History of Sandholes Presbyterian was written by the Rev J Edwin Barr, published 1994.
I presume that James Dickson and Thomas Dickson are the one and the same person.
Regards
Monica Stanway