placenamesMeenacross
Mín na Croise
A nineteenth-century school reused as a social centre and Saint Patrick’s unusual timber-clad church preserve two phases of community 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
- Mín na Croise · Irish · main form · validated name
- Meenacross · English · main form
Place & story
From school to social centre
Meenacross's former national school carries the date 1875. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records a single-storey, T-plan building with a projecting entrance porch, sandstone dressings and distinctive triangular-headed porch windows. Its gable windows have Tudor arches, although these openings were subsequently blocked. The plaque itself records the change of use: the words identifying the national school were covered by wording for the social centre. The building's later communal role is therefore visible on its façade. [2]
Saint Patrick’s timber construction
Saint Patrick's Church stands nearby on the hillside. The architectural inventory dates its erection to 1930 and places it within the tradition of prefabricated buildings. Timber boarding covers the exterior walls, while Tudor-arched windows and the decorative entrance porch give definition to its long, simple form. Inside, timber panelling, visible roof members and iron braces form part of the construction. The use of wood makes this church an unusual counterpart to the older stone-dressed schoolhouse. [3]
Remembering the opening
In 2017, librarian Fiona Sweeney's discovery of a 1932 opening date prompted plans to celebrate the church's eighty-fifth anniversary. A public meeting led to an organising committee and a booklet recording the church's history and people. The programme announced for 8 September brought together the Meenacross, Maghery and Dungloe bands for a procession from the social centre, followed by Mass, tree planting and refreshments. The reported opening date need not be identical to the architectural inventory's date for erection. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Donegal
- Barony
- Boylagh
- Civil parish
- Templecrone
- Within
- Maghery
- Within
- Meenacross
- Coordinates
- 54.90096, -8.40533 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1413088 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Meenacross. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Meenacross National School, registration40905712 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Saint Patrick's Catholic Church, registration40905701 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Meenacross celebrates85years of St. Patrick's,5September2017 · Carolyn Farrar, Donegal Live
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2012-01-04. How this page was prepared.