An Account from the History of the Diocese of Ferns
The images below are taken from W. H. Grattan Flood’s History of the Diocese of Ferns, published in Waterford by Downey & Co. in 1915. The volume provides a valuable contemporary account of the development of the parish and records how Ballyoughter was established as a separate parish during the nineteenth century.
Flood notes that Rev. Robert Synnott was appointed the first Parish Priest of Ballyoughter on 16 May 1875. Although Rev. Henry Williams had laid the foundation stone of the new church on 12 March 1874, it was Rev. Synnott who oversaw its completion and furnishing in 1876. The account then traces the succession of parish priests up to Rev. Nicholas Mernagh, who was serving when the book was published.
The extract also describes several older ecclesiastical sites in the surrounding area, including the ruined church at Toome, the former churches at Kilcomb and Ballycanew, and the cemetery and holy well associated with Kilnahue, also known as Lamogue. It records local traditions, patron saints and Pattern Day observances, preserving a snapshot of how the religious history of the district was understood in 1915.
The original pages are reproduced in the gallery below. Spellings, place names and historical interpretations have been retained as they appeared in the published source.
