Derry Churches

Map Reference: J612523 (3612, 3523)



Beside the main road to Portaferry, in Derry, are the remains of two churches. They may be survivors of an early monastery associated with St Cumain. The larger church to the North has a small east window but the ruins are generally low except in the east wall. There is a small cross-inscribed stone here. The church has a south doorway and is unlikely to be earlier than 12th century.



The smaller South Church has antae projecting on both east and west gables. It may date from the 10th or 11th century. The church is well preserved at the east but low at the West. There are small windows at the east and south. Some scaffolding holes survive within the walls. Clay, and not mortar, was used to bond the stones in both churches. Excavations in 1962 revealed a cemetery and traces of a timber and stone building under the South Church. This may have been a wooden predecessor.