Overview
Conwal Parish Church stands in Letterkenny’s Cathedral Square, directly beside the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Eunan and St Columba. It is a Church of Ireland church, and the setting is the draw: a modest parish church next to a far grander cathedral, with an old churchyard around it.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage dates the present church to about 1776, with possible remains of an earlier building. The spire was added in 1832 and the three-gabled south aisle in 1865.
One honest caveat before you make a special trip: this is an active church and the parish controls services and interior access. Use the parish listing to ask about services and access, and respect any signs or gates. Do not assume the interior or the churchyard will be open when you arrive.
The building
A ‘fair Church’ in Letterkenny is recorded in the Civil Survey of 1652–56, and in 1733 a church building was slated and one side seated under the rector, the Rev William Spann, whose 1744 chalice and paten the parish still uses at communion.
What you see today is rubble-built with an ashlar spire. The spire dates from 1832, and the south aisle was added in 1865 to designs by the ecclesiastical architects Welland & Gillespie. Look at the stonework and the pointed windows from the square.
If you are able to arrange a visit inside, the thing to look up at is the early-19th-century cast-iron circular roof, with its iron trusses, a short gallery and twisted brass brackets – an unusual bit of industrial-age engineering for a small parish church. Ask the parish whether the interior can be seen before you go.
The graveyard
An old churchyard like this holds a cross-section of old Letterkenny: landowners, clergy and townspeople across several centuries. If the grounds are open to you, take your time with the headstones and read the inscriptions shifting from 18th-century Latin to plainer 19th-century English as you move through the yard. A Wray family vault is recorded here from 1750, though vandals ‘smashed it to smithereens’ in 1971.
The parish also counts the Rev John Kinnear among its figures: a Letterkenny minister who became an MP for County Donegal and campaigned for tenants’ rights in the 1880s.
Visiting
- Admission: No charge has been listed, but access to the church is at the parish’s discretion. There is no guarantee the interior will be open when you arrive.
- Services: Contact the parish for current service times. The interior is not open to general visitors during worship.
- Parking: Check local signs in Letterkenny town centre for current parking arrangements.
- Nearby: St Eunan’s Cathedral is beside the church in Cathedral Square, and the Donegal County Museum is a short walk through the town centre.
If the door is shut, don’t count it a wasted trip: the spire and the later south aisle can be seen from the square, and the cathedral next door is an easy second stop.