St Fiaac's Church Clonegal

St Fiaac’s Church is a Church of Ireland parish church in the village of Clonegal, County Carlow, standing on a raised mound that overlooks the village, Huntington Castle and the valley of the River Derry. The site was in use long before the present building: the church occupies an earlier ecclesiastical site set on a dún, once ringed by a fosse and rath, the earthwork of which still helps mark the boundary of the churchyard. By tradition the church takes its name from St Fiaac, an early Irish churchman associated with the age of St Patrick.

The present building dates from 1819. It was raised in the Gothic style with a tower and belfry to designs supervised by the architect John Bowden, after a meeting of the Select Vestry in October 1818 agreed that a new church was needed. The work was helped by a grant of £1,300 from the Board of First Fruits, repayable over seventeen years.

Inside, the church is lit by three stained glass windows depicting the Good Samaritan, the Good Shepherd and the Resurrection of Christ, each given in memory of local families connected with the parish. The surrounding graveyard is among the older burial grounds still in use, with headstones dating back to 1777. Today St Fiaac’s remains an active place of worship within the Bunclody Union of Parishes and forms part of the Ireland’s Ancient East heritage region, welcoming visitors who come to see its architecture, windows and historic churchyard.