St. Patrick

History

St Patrick's Church, Carrickallen, was opened in 1844 as a third centre of worship in the parish of Laragh, the area having been provided with its own curate by Bishop Browne in 1839.

The parish's own history traces Christianity in the district to the fifth or sixth century and holds that the earliest church stood in the townland of Killycrone. The medieval parish church was built in the townland of Laragh, from which the parish takes its name, and was placed under the patronage of St Brigid. Two thirds of the tithes were impropriated to the Benedictine abbey of Fore in Co. Westmeath, leaving the local vicar with fewer resources, and in 1390 Bishop John O'Reilly of Kilmore united the parishes of Laragh and Drung; Pope John confirmed the union in September 1412. A chapel was opened at Munelta in 1770 by Fr Anthony Smith, a native of Carrickallen, and in 1790 the parish was divided into Upper and Lower parts.