placenamesCullyhanna
Coilleach Eanach
Cullyhanna’s buildings connect parish life with the preservation of South Armagh history and the memory of Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Coilleach Eanach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Cullyhanna · English · main form
Place & story
Saint Patrick’s Church
William Hague designed Saint Patrick’s Church at Cullyhanna, with its foundation stone laid on 18 May 1891. James Wynne of Dundalk was the builder. After Hague’s death, Thomas Francis McNamara supplied designs for internal work; the architectural archive dates the dedication to 1903. Its stained glass includes Saints Patrick and Brigid by Walter Clokey and a Transfiguration window by Mayer and Company. These named contributions reveal several hands behind the large cruciform church. [2]
A site with successive uses
The Cardinal Ó Fiaich Heritage Centre stands on ground used by a church from the 1750s until 1892 and by Cullyhanna National School from 1894 to 1972. The local historical society created the centre to commemorate the cardinal’s interest in history and folklore. A contemporary notice in History Ireland reported its opening in 1995, with exhibitions on his life and the area’s archaeological and historical sites. A former educational setting thereby became a place for interpreting local heritage. [3] [4]
The cardinal’s local connection
Tomás Ó Fiaich was born in 1923 at Anamar, near Cullyhanna, and attended Cregganduff National School, where his father Patrick Fee taught. The heritage centre’s account describes his work on early Irish monasticism and the O’Neills of the Fews, as well as his editing of Seanchas Ard Mhacha. He became Archbishop of Armagh in 1977 and a cardinal in 1979. The centre honours that scholarly career alongside his church leadership. [5]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Armagh
- Barony
- Fews Upper
- Civil parish
- Creggan
- Within
- Cullyhanna Big
- Coordinates
- 54.12956, -6.57719 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 136026 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Cullyhanna. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Dictionary of Irish Architects: Saint Patrick’s Church, Cullyhanna · Irish Architectural Archive
- Crossmaglen and Creggan Heritage Trail: Cullyhanna · Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership
- Cardinal Ó Fiaich Heritage Centre opens, Autumn1995 · History Ireland
- Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich: the man of the people · Cardinal Ó Fiaich Heritage Centre
- Bell tower of St Patrick’s Church, Cullyhanna illustration: based on a The bell-tower of St Patrick's Church, Cullyhanna by Eric Jones. 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.