placenamesCorduff
An Chorr Dhubh
Corduff’s church, school, sports grounds and community centre record successive efforts to provide shared places for the surrounding district.
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 Chorr Dhubh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Corduff · English · main form
Place & story
John McDonnell’s Saint Michael’s
Saint Michael's Catholic Church was built in 1912 to designs by Belfast architect John McDonnell. Its seven-bay nave is flanked by lower aisles, with a projecting porch, transept and sacristy giving the building an irregular outline. Rock-faced limestone contrasts with smoother dressed stone around openings and corners. These details give the church its distinctive Early English Gothic character. [2]
A pitch and centre built through local effort
The community's campaign for a football pitch and centre began in May 1980. A community council formed that October, and fundraising drew on residents, emigrants, dances, concerts and a charity football match involving Chicago's Wolfe Tones. Volunteers erected foundations, steelwork and roofing for the centre in 1981. Its doors opened on 10 February 1983, followed by an official opening on 29 May. [3]
A broader role after the community audit
A 1997 community audit identified demand for childcare, meeting and training rooms, kitchen facilities and a heritage centre. These needs shaped an extension in the early 2000s. The Mountain Dew venue opened in March 2003 and Bright Sparks playschool the following month. President Mary McAleese officially opened the new facilities on 1 December 2005, marking another stage in the centre's development. [3]
Scoil Phádraig’s amalgamation
Scoil Phádraig opened in 1986, bringing together the former Sreenty and Corduff national schools. Its original accommodation comprised four classrooms, a general-purpose room and supporting facilities. Extensions in 2013 and 2020 added classrooms and specialist teaching space, while an all-weather outdoor playing area followed in 2016. The school history records an evolving campus serving the combined school community. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Corduff. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint Michael’s Catholic Church,record41402726 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Corduff History:Community Centre · Corduff Raferagh Community Association
- Our History:Scoil Phádraig · Scoil Phádraig,Corduff
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2013-11-05. How this page was prepared.