placenamesGlasdrumman
An Ghlasdromainn
St Brigid’s links Glasdrumman with craftsmen and building materials from beyond South Armagh, while archaeological work has traced a nearby barracks site.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- An Ghlasdromainn · Irish · main form
- Glasdrumman · English · main form
Place & story
Preparing a new church
Canon Peter Sheerin sought to replace the older St Brigid’s, which the parish history dates to the 1770s. Cardinal Logue’s correspondence in 1922 supported rebuilding rather than repairing it. John Quinn donated the new site, but its rocky ground required substantial preparation. Contractor John Boyle employed local labour, and Sheerin asked able-bodied men to contribute a day’s work each fortnight. The account records the practical community effort that preceded the new building. [2]
Ravensdale stone in South Armagh
The new St Brigid’s was designed by Ralph Henry Byrne and built between the middle 1920s and 1932. Its classical composition incorporated the tower and portico from Ravensdale Park in County Louth. The Irish Architectural Archive preserves drawings from the building campaign in its W. H. Byrne and Son collection. This reuse of substantial architectural elements gave a South Armagh church a direct material connection with an earlier country house across the county boundary. [3]
The church’s craftsmen
The architectural record identifies several firms involved in St Brigid’s fittings. J. and C. McGloughlin of Dublin supplied brass sanctuary gates, while McGuiness and Company of Dundalk made the mosaic floors. Ludwig Oppenheimer Limited is associated with the mosaic in the west pediment depicting The Lord is my Shepherd. A proposed classical high altar by Vannucci and Favilla also survives among the drawings, evidence of the detailed design work behind the finished interior. [3]
Traces of the barracks landscape
Archaeologist Stephen Gilmore investigated a nearby Glassdrumman Road site in 2015 because of its proximity to a possible O’Neill tower house and bawn. Test trenches instead exposed a building corner and a shallow field ditch that could be related to Ordnance Survey maps. The building had replaced an earlier RIC barracks. No finds predating the nineteenth century emerged, a useful distinction between the area’s older associations and what this particular excavation established. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Glasdrumman. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- History of Glassdrummond Church · Upper Creggan Parish
- St Brigid’s, Glasdrummond: building works and fittings · Irish Architectural Archive / Dictionary of Irish Architects
- 2015:426,86 Glassdrumman Road, licenceAE/15/140 E · Stephen Gilmore / Northern Archaeological Consultancy
- Saint Brigid’s Church near Glasdrumman, as photographed in 2007 illustration: based on a Church of St Brigid, Glassdrumman by Shane Killen. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-12-20. How this page was prepared.