Church Ruins at Urney

The town land of Urney is a most interesting place. According to Philip O' Connell in "the DIOCESE OF KILMORE IT'S HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES, 1936 (page 19-21). He says "Urney is usually understood to be a modernised form of Urnaidhe, i.e. an Oratory. But a passage in the Leabhar Breac copy of the Felira of Oengus (edited by Stokes) refers to the Civitis Ernaidhe of Sliabh Guaire. The Ernaidhe, as already shown, were one of the early races inhabiting the region of the Erne in pre-christian times. They were Erdini of Ptolemy, (and the Erne river retains their name). I take it that the Urney of Kilmore is identical with the Civitis Ernadhe of Sliabh Guaire. Elsewhere in Ireland Urney is derrived from Urnaidhe, an oratory". O'Connell also states (page 294) that the Church at Urney possessed three polls of termon land (1 poll approximately equals 25 acres of arable land) and were rated at one shilling per poll on 1590. The church had an annex which was used as a residence and later as a school. It is surrounded by an ancient cementry. The church measures 39 ft long by 19.5 ft wide, sits on the banks of the Erne and is now in ruins. It has stone steps from a walled passage in the interior which rise to the level of the side walls which led to upper chambers.

The late Fr. Dan Gallogly, in his history of Kilmore diocese, tells us that Urney is mentioned in Papal documents in 1427, 1436 and in 1501 as the parish church of St. Brigid. St. Brigid, according to tradition was born in 453 at Faughart, a Co. Louth village in the diocese of Armagh. She is reputed to have been noted for her love of animals and birds and devoted herself to charitable acts, caring for the poor and the blind. She was also noted as a protector of the much feared perils of fire and elements. Urney was subject to the Benedictine priory of Fore, once a fortified town, located approximately two miles from Castlepollard. According to Rory Masterson's article in “Breifne 2003” (page 18), the vicar of Urney in 1431 was a Patrick Ofairceallaich?

Raymond Gillespie in his article in “Cavan Essays” (page 103) speaks of a holy well at the church. He says that in 1683 a local man, Patrick Bredin, was reported as saying that at Midsummer Eve about twenty people gathered there to pray at a stone

“upon which was a face representing St. Brigid”.

The pilgrims told Bredin:

“that St. Brigid who built the church had left the stone in that heap and that they pay adoration to that stone in commemoration of the saint”.

It seems therefore that Urney was an important monastic settlement and place of pilgrimage that has lent its name to the parish of Urney and Annagelliff, which includes Butlersbridge Village and Cavan town.

Interestingly, a very important civil record of valuation of Tenanments taken between 1854 and 1864 by a Sir Richard Griffith denotes that a James Bredon occupied a property in Urney. Although there is a variation in the spelling of the surname a noted above, it would appear that this family resided in the locality for the following 200 years at least.