County Roscommon church celebrating 250th anniversary

St Coman’s Church of Ireland on Henry Street, Roscommon Town, celebrates its 250th anniversary of the present building this year, though the ground where it is situated has been associated with St Coman for a much longer time.

The annals are abundant with references to this early Christian site and monastic centre.

The present church is a product of the 17th and 18th centuries, with various changes and additions through the late 19th century, and significant repair work in the late 20th century.

Scholars of monasticism like Mervyn Archdall in 1786 claim that this site was the location of St Coman’s first church and is also likely to be the place where he was buried. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, the first abbey of Roscommon was founded in the year 742 — the year in which St Coman, the first Abbot-bishop of Roscommon and Abbot of Clonmacnoise, died. The annals tell us that that his mortal remains were raised in 1170 and inserted in a silver shrine now lost (Lucas, 1986).

The church as we see it today was erected in 1775 and some decorated stone may have been used from the ruined Dominican Priory a short distance away.

“Roscommon church was like most Irish country churches - an oblong building, measuring seventy feet long by 24 feet wide, and blind at one side, with four windows, of the carpenters Gothic style, on the south side, and the very uncommon feature of a late fourteenth century cut-stone window at the east end, of good design, which had been taken from a previous church, but was half obscured by the insertion of wooden sashes. There was also a tower at the west end, in which a fine entrance doorway, of the same period, had been re-erected, and some portions of similar windows, and the greater part of a twelfth- century doorway, erected on the opposite side to the other one.” (The Irish Builder, Feb 1st, 1888)

A report in 1808 by Rev Daniel Augustus Beaufort referred to the church having a steeple and spire which leads to the thought that the spire may have been structurally damaged at some stage (the Big Wind of 1839?), taken down and never replaced.

It is believed galleries were added to the west end and along the north side around 1815.

The church was reopened for divine service on 16th November, 1887, after having undergone a thorough restoration earlier in the 1880s, when the galleries were removed, windows were inserted in the north side of the nave, and a transept added on the south side.

The churchyard is L–shaped in plan and was a mixed burial ground; it was officially closed in 1912 when new burial grounds were opened on the Athlone Rd.

The early Celtic church on St Coman’s site is represented by some fine grave slabs, one of the ninth-century with the name ‘Joseph’ inscribed with an invocation of prayer for his soul.

This was discovered in 1988 and is now on display for viewing in the Roscommon County Museum.

The graveyard exhibits some ostentatious table-style tombs to worthies of the parish, Celtic Cross style memorials indicative of the surge of Irish Nationalism of the late 19th century, many tradesman symbol slabs, some 18th- century Passion symbol slabs and numerous plain, simple stone markers which meant something to the families that placed them there.

A memorial worthy of mention is one which was erected to the parents of William (Willie) Byrne and he himself was buried here also.

Willie Byrne is noted as one of the greatest veterinary surgeons in Ireland or England in his time. He came from Araghty, Athleague, and was the first vet to give Miss Aleen Cust her first job as a veterinarian when she could not succeed in this task in England.

Inside the church there are many commemorative memorials to local families living in the area in the main from the 18th century. There is one dated 1723 with the name Lovelace of Ballybride inscribed.

Another has the names of John and Catherine Fleming dated 1696 and there is a fine memorial to the Gunning family of Castlecoote.

A number of events are being planned throughout 2025 to commemorate this significant anniversary, with concerts by the Sperrin choir (May 17th), Cór Comáin (June 8th) and the Athlone Choral Society (November 30th), Dedication Festival in October and an Open Evening during Heritage Week — “Exploring our Foundations”. Regular updates are available on the FaceBook page — Roscommon Church of Ireland.

Meanwhile, services take place on the first and third Sundays of each month at 11.30 a.m..