placenamesDunfanaghy
Dún Fionnachaidh
The electoral district includes Dunfanaghy and Figart, where a long stone bridge and a church with its neighbouring rectory preserve different kinds of local building.
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
- Dún Fionnachaidh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Dunfanaghy · English · main form
Place & story
Twelve arches at Figart
Hornhead Bridge carries the road across the tidal channel between New Lake and Sheephaven Bay. Its twelve small arches and stone cutwaters spread the crossing across a long, low structure. The architectural survey dates it broadly to the later eighteenth or early nineteenth century, while allowing for earlier fabric. Built in rubble stone, it connects the Dunfanaghy side with the southern end of the Horn Head peninsula. [2]
Holy Trinity’s unusual plan
Holy Trinity Church combines a short nave with projecting transepts and several gables, rather than a simple rectangular hall. Pointed windows, sandstone walls, buttresses and groups of three graded windows give its exterior a Gothic character. The architectural inventory attributes the design to John Lanyon and records an opening and consecration in 1873, despite an 1874 date associated with the building. Alexander John Robert Stewart donated the site. [3]
The rectory beside the church
South of Holy Trinity stands the late Victorian rectory, dated around 1880 in the heritage survey. Projecting gables, bay windows and decorative timber work give the house an irregular outline. Red brick surrounds and corner detailing contrast with its roughcast walls. A former stable building and enclosed rear yard belong to the same group. The survey suggests a possible connection with the church’s architect, but does not establish the attribution as certain. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Dunfanaghy. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Hornhead Bridge, registration 40807004 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Holy Trinity Church, registration 40807010 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Dunfanaghy Rectory, registration 40807011 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.