Castletown Kilpatrick church, also known simply as St Patricks, is a Church of Ireland ‘Board of First Fruits’ church built in 1823 under the direction of the bishop of Meath Thomas Lewis O’Beirne. The Board of First Fruits was a body set up to renovate old disused churches and construct new churches, glebe houses and schoolhouses, in the first quarter of the 19th century almost 700 churches were built with the aid of these grants. The Church stands on the site of an earlier medieval church that is mentioned as early as 1306 in the ecclesiastical records of Pope Nicholas IV. The church fell into ruin by 1641 and is depicted in the Down Survey of 1656-58 as being a roofless ruin. Many parts of the earlier structure were incorporated into the First Fruits designed church. The church’s declining number of worshippers led to it closing for services during the mid 1960s, it has since then rapidly fallen into decay.
The ruin as it stands today is unusual as the walled pathway that leads to its entrance is below the level of the graveyard. I visit many such places and by and large I feel nothing unusual or untoward but I must say St Patrick’s C of I was one place that certainly had a palpable ominous feeling that I wasn’t feel welcome there, and there was a sense of disorientation. Perhaps it was the late evening light disappearing quickly as I took the photos, or the noise of the crows endlessly caw-cawing in the surrounding trees but I have read many other people’s reports on visiting the site and they seem to echo the same opinion as I do. Perhaps any readers who have visited this church would care to share their feelings in the comments.
Lastly there is a well nearby the church known as St Patrick’s from which the church gets its name. It was believed that St Patrick stopped at this well on his way to Slane and knelt on a stone nearby and prayed, the tracks of his hands and knees apparently ‘still to be seen’ as stated by a contributor to the Duchas Schools Collection of 1938.
GPS: 53.78673, -6.71453
Visited the church on a spring Sunday morning, the grave yard was beautiful covered in snow drops. some very interesting graves
Indeed though I must say it was one of the creepiest of all places I have been. Just felt watched. It happens rarely, I’d say in the 700+ places I’ve covered it’s only happened 10 times. I’m glad your trip was more serene!
Visited this church on New Year’s Day with the missus and three little ones having looked at the OS maps of the area. Love visiting old graveyards, holy wells etc. (and dragging the children along!) I’ve never had any unpleasant experiences on any our visits, the opposite generally. This place really felt strikingly unsettling. We wandered around looking at the church, carvings, gravestones and so on. Walked down around the crypt, explored the gravestones. Heavy rains came and so we left, but there was a heavy and unpleasant feeling in the air there. Just this evening I came online while chatting to my brother about the place, to show him photographs of the church, and found your post. Uncanny to read your account and similar experience. Lord have mercy on the souls of the dead!
Hi Jonny, thanks for posting and it’s interesting you felt the same heavy vibe there that I did. Much like yourself I have visited probably 500plus graveyards at this stage and in the majority I get a sense of peace and calm. That is why this one sticks in my memory so vividly. I just wanted to get away from the place. I’d say on my site there are probably only 20-30 places where I have felt that same feeling, or felt that I shouldn’t be there.
Hi Ed. It is so interesting that I am American doing research on my great grandfather who was baptized here so I went searching to see if the church still stands and found these pictures and your comments. I am planning a trip to visit sometime in the future and this church is on my list of places to explore. May I ask, is it easy to find? I’m grateful for the pictures! And for Jonny’s comments also.
Wendy
Hello Wendy, I’m glad that you found some family history that linked you to my website. As for the Church it is relatively easy to find and is equidistant between the towns of Kells and Ardee in Meath (not far from Dublin) however you would need a car to access it. I do hope you get to visit it at some stage.
Thank you Ed!