placenamesCrossreagh
An Chros Riabhach
Saint Mary’s Church preserves a nineteenth-century rebuilding story and much of the craftsmanship of its original interior.
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
- An Chros Riabhach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Crossreagh · English · main form
Place & story
Replacing the barn church
Saint Mary’s Catholic Church was built in 1874, replacing a smaller T-shaped barn church at the western corner of the site. The new building adopted a cruciform plan, with a four-bay nave and a three-stage tower. Its designer has not been identified. A vestry was added around 1970, alongside alterations to the altar furnishings, while the principal form of the nineteenth-century church remained. [2]
Stone, timber and Gothic detail
The church’s sandstone tower has battlements and corner pinnacles, making it a prominent local landmark. Inside, timber roof braces carry decorative pierced details, and pointed arches supported by hexagonal piers open into the transepts. A western gallery and pews dating from around 1880 remain part of the interior. The architectural inventory highlights the survival of the church’s original fabric and the contrasting finishes of its stonework. [2]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Cavan
- Barony
- Castlerahan
- Civil parish
- Mullagh
- Within
- Crossbane
- Within
- Crossreagh
- Coordinates
- 53.85536, -7.01209 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412189 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Crossreagh. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Crossreagh (Castlerahan) — NIAH 40404001 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.