Lislee Church, Rectory and Graveyard
The parish church was situated at Lislee and it is from this location that the parish took its name.
Bill O’Riordan states:
"The origins of the parish of Lislee are obscure. The area was mentioned in an official document in 1355 as belonging to the Bishop of Ross. A vicarage at Lislee was recorded in 1459, presumably on the site of the existing ruined church. In those days a vicar was a priest who represented a bishop. There is no mention of any monastic connections, so it may be presumed at the parish was a secular one from its beginnings. The townlands of the parish are those that are near the coast from Courtmacsherry to Dunworley with the townlands of Abbeymahon surrounding it on the northern and western sides. Up to the time when the monasteries were suppressed and the Cistercians were driven out, there are no records of any dissention between the monastic parish of Abbeymahon and the secular parish of Lislee."
The Reformation resulted in the establishment of the Church of Ireland was in 1536. There are no details regarding the transition period in Lislee, the size of the Protestant congregation in the area, the buildings erected or the Ministers who served there.
The present church (in ruins) dates from 1830. The earliest burial identified in the large graveyard surrounding the unroofed church ruin dates from 1735.
A rectory, known as ‘Glebe House’ was situated next to the church and forty-two acres of land were attached to it. This building also dates from the 19th century. The minister and his family lived in ‘Glebe House’. This house still stands and functions as a dwelling house.
Divine services were held in the parish church every Sunday, at Christmas and Good Friday at 12 noon. Holy Communion was celebrated twelve times a year and the average number of communicants was twenty-eight.
A Sunday School was held every Sunday afternoon at Lislee. The school was supported by the Leslie family who lived at Kincraigie, Courtmacsherry. In 1860, fifty-three children attended this Sunday School. The total Church of Ireland population in the parish, at this time, was two hundred and forty nine people.
The parish of Lislee, therefore had two churches, at Lislee and Courtmacsherry. Subsequently the churches of Ardgehane and Timoleague were combined to enlarge the parish. In 1961, Lislee church was deconsecrated and the roof removed. The steeple was preserved as it is a landmark used by sailors offshore. Ardgehane church also closed in 1961 and the churches of Courtmacsherry, Timoleague, Rathclarin and Templetrine were combined into one parish.
In 1974, further changes were made to the parish structure and the present structure put in place whereby Courtmacsherry, Timoleague, Kilmalooda and Clonakilty combined to make up the Kilgarriffe Union of parishes.
The following is taken from Lewis' Topographical Dictionary 1837 - LISLEE,
T"he parish has 1,786 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ross, episcopally united in 1705 to the rectory of Kilsallagh, together constituting the union of Lislee, in the patronage of the bishop: the rectory is impropriate in the Earl of Shannon. The tithes amount to £749.2.6, of which £203,13 is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar; the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £588.3.8. The glebe comprises 42 acres, of which 10 were purchased by the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe-house was built in 1813, by a gift of £100 and a loan of £750 from the same Board. The church is a neat edifice in the early English style, with a square tower, erected in 1830 at the expense of the parish, aided by a loan of £900 from the Board. In the RC divisions this parish forms part of the union or district of Abbeymahon; the chapel, a large plain building, is at Butlerstown. Of the seven schools in the parish, in which during the summer about 300 children are educated, the parochial schools at Barreragh are partly supported by the incumbent, and together with a school at Court-McSherry, built and supported by the Leslie family, and a Sunday school, are under his superintendence; there is a school held in the chapel yard at Butlerstown, under the patronage of the RC clergy: the remainder are private schools. There are several ancient circular mounds, or raths; that from which the parish is said to derive its name Lis-lee is a little to the west of the church, but the most extensive is on a hill about half a mile to the south."
The parish church was situated at Lislee and it is from this location that the parish took its name.
Bill O’Riordan states:
"The origins of the parish of Lislee are obscure. The area was mentioned in an official document in 1355 as belonging to the Bishop of Ross. A vicarage at Lislee was recorded in 1459, presumably on the site of the existing ruined church. In those days a vicar was a priest who represented a bishop. There is no mention of any monastic connections, so it may be presumed at the parish was a secular one from its beginnings. The townlands of the parish are those that are near the coast from Courtmacsherry to Dunworley with the townlands of Abbeymahon surrounding it on the northern and western sides. Up to the time when the monasteries were suppressed and the Cistercians were driven out, there are no records of any dissention between the monastic parish of Abbeymahon and the secular parish of Lislee."
The Reformation resulted in the establishment of the Church of Ireland was in 1536. There are no details regarding the transition period in Lislee, the size of the Protestant congregation in the area, the buildings erected or the Ministers who served there.
The present church (in ruins) dates from 1830. The earliest burial identified in the large graveyard surrounding the unroofed church ruin dates from 1735.
A rectory, known as ‘Glebe House’ was situated next to the church and forty-two acres of land were attached to it. This building also dates from the 19th century. The minister and his family lived in ‘Glebe House’. This house still stands and functions as a dwelling house.
Divine services were held in the parish church every Sunday, at Christmas and Good Friday at 12 noon. Holy Communion was celebrated twelve times a year and the average number of communicants was twenty-eight.
A Sunday School was held every Sunday afternoon at Lislee. The school was supported by the Leslie family who lived at Kincraigie, Courtmacsherry. In 1860, fifty-three children attended this Sunday School. The total Church of Ireland population in the parish, at this time, was two hundred and forty nine people.
The parish of Lislee, therefore had two churches, at Lislee and Courtmacsherry. Subsequently the churches of Ardgehane and Timoleague were combined to enlarge the parish. In 1961, Lislee church was deconsecrated and the roof removed. The steeple was preserved as it is a landmark used by sailors offshore. Ardgehane church also closed in 1961 and the churches of Courtmacsherry, Timoleague, Rathclarin and Templetrine were combined into one parish.
In 1974, further changes were made to the parish structure and the present structure put in place whereby Courtmacsherry, Timoleague, Kilmalooda and Clonakilty combined to make up the Kilgarriffe Union of parishes.
The following is taken from Lewis' Topographical Dictionary 1837 - LISLEE,
T"he parish has 1,786 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ross, episcopally united in 1705 to the rectory of Kilsallagh, together constituting the union of Lislee, in the patronage of the bishop: the rectory is impropriate in the Earl of Shannon. The tithes amount to £749.2.6, of which £203,13 is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar; the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £588.3.8. The glebe comprises 42 acres, of which 10 were purchased by the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe-house was built in 1813, by a gift of £100 and a loan of £750 from the same Board. The church is a neat edifice in the early English style, with a square tower, erected in 1830 at the expense of the parish, aided by a loan of £900 from the Board. In the RC divisions this parish forms part of the union or district of Abbeymahon; the chapel, a large plain building, is at Butlerstown. Of the seven schools in the parish, in which during the summer about 300 children are educated, the parochial schools at Barreragh are partly supported by the incumbent, and together with a school at Court-McSherry, built and supported by the Leslie family, and a Sunday school, are under his superintendence; there is a school held in the chapel yard at Butlerstown, under the patronage of the RC clergy: the remainder are private schools. There are several ancient circular mounds, or raths; that from which the parish is said to derive its name Lis-lee is a little to the west of the church, but the most extensive is on a hill about half a mile to the south."
Church of St. John the Evangelist –Courtmacsherry
The building that serves as the Church of Ireland place of worship in Courtmacsherry was originally built as a junior school and teacher’s residence in the 1840s. It replaced a woodman’s hut, part of the Earl of Shannon’s estate, which had occupied the site. This school served younger children while the older children travelled to Ballycullinane where another school was situated.
The school in Ballycullinane was situated in the house now occupied by the Madden family. Little is known about this school but it is known that Heber Coughlan, the author of the poem ‘The Maid of Coolim, was one of its schoolmasters.
At a later stage in the 1800s, the building in Courtmacsherry also served as a ‘Licensed House of Worship’. The services would be taken by local preachers, not the ordained minister, hence it was locally known as the ‘Preaching House’.
An evening service was held every Sunday in the ‘Licensed House’; at 5pm in winter and 6pm in Summer. Holy Communion was celebrated four times a year at 8.30am.
When the building was converted to the Church of St. John the Evangelist, it was turned, in a manner of speaking, ‘back to front’. The portion of the building fronting the street is the section that served as the teacher’s dwelling house. In the schoolroom/preaching house portion of the building, the original location of the pulpit was where the baptismal font is now located just inside the present main door. The present vestry was a room set aside for the Ladies Boyle of Courtmacsherry House, daughters of the Earl of Shannon. In that private space, they could attend services while sitting separate from the congregation.
The church of St. John the Evangelist was opened for worship in 1907. The previous few years were spent in adapting and decorating the building to make it suitable for service as a church. The use of the building for a church was made possible by the closure of the junior school in 1900 and the establishment of a Church of Ireland national school in a house owned by the Earl of Shannon adjacent to Courtmacsherry House (Courtmacsherry Hotel). That national school, which had only fifteen pupils when it was established, closed in 1927.
Babies were baptised in Courtmacsherry from the opening of the church in 1907 but it was not until the ministry of Rev. Roland Blennerhassett (1969-72) that the first marriages were solemnised there.
On the wall of the church porch is a plaque dedicated to the Ladies Boyle, the last members of the Earl of Shannon’s family to live in Courtmacsherry. It reads:
To the Glory of God
The marble step and tiling of the choir
Are placed herein to the honoured memory of
The Ladies Jane, Elizabeth and Charlotte Boyle
The noble and charitable benefactors
Of this church and district
In which their lives were spent
Ever doing good.
‘The memory of the just is blessed’
One of the stained glass windows in the church was donated by the Earl of Shannon to the memory of The Ladies Boyle
The bell of the church was donated by E.B. Travers Esq. Of Kincraigie and the commemorative plaque is dated 1907.
A flagon specially made for the church has the inscription:
St. John the Evangelist’s Church
This Communion Service
Was presented by
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson Travers
1907
When the church at Lislee closed, the church plate was transferred to the church in Courtmacsherry. St. John’s possesses two old type collecting plates. Each has a basin nine inches in diameter and a handle three feet long. One is inscribed Lislee 1850 and the second is inscribed Lislee Church 1780.
A cup and paten set inscribed Lislee Church 1791 and another cup inscribed Lislee Church 1869 are also included in the plate collection of the church.
The building that serves as the Church of Ireland place of worship in Courtmacsherry was originally built as a junior school and teacher’s residence in the 1840s. It replaced a woodman’s hut, part of the Earl of Shannon’s estate, which had occupied the site. This school served younger children while the older children travelled to Ballycullinane where another school was situated.
The school in Ballycullinane was situated in the house now occupied by the Madden family. Little is known about this school but it is known that Heber Coughlan, the author of the poem ‘The Maid of Coolim, was one of its schoolmasters.
At a later stage in the 1800s, the building in Courtmacsherry also served as a ‘Licensed House of Worship’. The services would be taken by local preachers, not the ordained minister, hence it was locally known as the ‘Preaching House’.
An evening service was held every Sunday in the ‘Licensed House’; at 5pm in winter and 6pm in Summer. Holy Communion was celebrated four times a year at 8.30am.
When the building was converted to the Church of St. John the Evangelist, it was turned, in a manner of speaking, ‘back to front’. The portion of the building fronting the street is the section that served as the teacher’s dwelling house. In the schoolroom/preaching house portion of the building, the original location of the pulpit was where the baptismal font is now located just inside the present main door. The present vestry was a room set aside for the Ladies Boyle of Courtmacsherry House, daughters of the Earl of Shannon. In that private space, they could attend services while sitting separate from the congregation.
The church of St. John the Evangelist was opened for worship in 1907. The previous few years were spent in adapting and decorating the building to make it suitable for service as a church. The use of the building for a church was made possible by the closure of the junior school in 1900 and the establishment of a Church of Ireland national school in a house owned by the Earl of Shannon adjacent to Courtmacsherry House (Courtmacsherry Hotel). That national school, which had only fifteen pupils when it was established, closed in 1927.
Babies were baptised in Courtmacsherry from the opening of the church in 1907 but it was not until the ministry of Rev. Roland Blennerhassett (1969-72) that the first marriages were solemnised there.
On the wall of the church porch is a plaque dedicated to the Ladies Boyle, the last members of the Earl of Shannon’s family to live in Courtmacsherry. It reads:
To the Glory of God
The marble step and tiling of the choir
Are placed herein to the honoured memory of
The Ladies Jane, Elizabeth and Charlotte Boyle
The noble and charitable benefactors
Of this church and district
In which their lives were spent
Ever doing good.
‘The memory of the just is blessed’
One of the stained glass windows in the church was donated by the Earl of Shannon to the memory of The Ladies Boyle
The bell of the church was donated by E.B. Travers Esq. Of Kincraigie and the commemorative plaque is dated 1907.
A flagon specially made for the church has the inscription:
St. John the Evangelist’s Church
This Communion Service
Was presented by
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson Travers
1907
When the church at Lislee closed, the church plate was transferred to the church in Courtmacsherry. St. John’s possesses two old type collecting plates. Each has a basin nine inches in diameter and a handle three feet long. One is inscribed Lislee 1850 and the second is inscribed Lislee Church 1780.
A cup and paten set inscribed Lislee Church 1791 and another cup inscribed Lislee Church 1869 are also included in the plate collection of the church.
Sources:
Much of the information contained in this feature is gleaned for a project undertaken by Linda Kingston and we acknowledge her generosity in allowing us to share it.
Lewis, Samuel; A Topographical Dictionary of the parishes, towns and villages of Cork city and county 1837: Collins Press, Cork, 1998.
O’Riordan, Bill; Barryroe Parish – A Short History 1172-1916; Barryroe Parish Assembly, Cork, 2011.
Much of the information contained in this feature is gleaned for a project undertaken by Linda Kingston and we acknowledge her generosity in allowing us to share it.
Lewis, Samuel; A Topographical Dictionary of the parishes, towns and villages of Cork city and county 1837: Collins Press, Cork, 1998.
O’Riordan, Bill; Barryroe Parish – A Short History 1172-1916; Barryroe Parish Assembly, Cork, 2011.
