Mark H Durkan.
Conservation work being carried out on the remains of Enagh Church on the outskirts of Derry has been welcomed by Environment Minister Mark H Durkan.
Situated in an overgrown graveyard to the side of Enagh Lough, the building once looked across the lake to an O’Cahan tower house situated on a Crannog or artificial island.
The tower house is long gone but the gable walls of the church remain with interesting architectural detail.
Commenting on the work being carried out by stone masons from the Northern Ireland Environmental Agency, Mr Durkan said the conservation of the church was “vital to the continuing protection of this important legacy from the past.”
Mr Durkan added: “These relatively unknown sites are often of great beauty and have huge potential to add to our knowledge of history but also to attract and retain tourists in the Derry area. To realise this potential we first have to invest in protection and conservation and this is what my Department is doing.”
The exact date for the construction of this current church is unknown, but it is believed to have been built on the site of a much earlier ecclesiastical centre.
Some sources ascribe the foundation of the church to Saint Canice, Bishop of Aghaboe and patron saint of Kiannachta, who may also have founded the nearby churches at Eglinton and Faughanvale. Other sources suggest Colum Crag or Columba may have founded it, but there is little firm evidence.
It is known, however, that this earlier church was one of three that were plundered in 1197 by an Anglo- Norman raiding party. It is thought that it was a monastic site, later converted into a parish church.
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