placenamesCrosserlough
Crois ar Loch
Saint Mary’s Church links a Victorian building campaign with Marcus Daly’s emigrant success and a much later community restoration.
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
- Crois ar Loch · Irish · main form · validated name
- Crosserlough · English · main form
Place & story
William Hague’s replacement church
Saint Mary’s Church was built in 1888 to William Hague’s design for Father John Boylan. The Irish Architectural Archive records that it replaced a church destroyed by fire in 1880 or 1881, with a subscription list opened in 1881. The same archive identifies later work by Patrick Joseph Brady in 1924 and stained glass by Mayer and Company in the east and west windows and a quatrefoil in the southern aisle. The building therefore contains work from more than its initial construction campaign. [2]
Marcus Daly’s gift
Marcus Daly funded a Calvary sculpture at Saint Mary’s in 1894. The Cavan-born emigrant had become a powerful mining businessman in Montana, acquiring the Anaconda Mining Company and developing its copper interests. His support for the Crosserlough sculpture was one expression of an enduring connection with Ireland. The gift places a particular local church within the wider history of emigration and the fortunes some emigrants made abroad. [3]
Restoration supported by local groups
A major restoration of Saint Mary’s began in 2010, followed by closure in June 2012 while substantial work continued. Masses moved to Saint Patrick’s in Kilnaleck during the project, and Bishop Leo O’Reilly rededicated Saint Mary’s in 2013. The parish account records fundraising by the Crosserlough Drama Group, including productions in the Old School, and Christmas carol evenings by the choral society. Performing groups thus contributed directly to the renewal of the church. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Cavan
- Barony
- Castlerahan
- Civil parish
- Crosserlough
- Within
- Crosserlough
- Coordinates
- 53.88434, -7.30039 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412188 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Crosserlough. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Dictionary of Irish Architects: Saint Mary’s Church, Crosserlough · Irish Architectural Archive
- Daly, Marcus: Dictionary of Irish Biography, revised September2025 · Daniel Mulhall, Royal Irish Academy
- Our Three Churches: Saint Mary’s, Crosserlough · Crosserlough Parish
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.