This lovely church set in a pastoral landscape was built by the Board of First Fruits in 1810 at the cost of £766! The Board was a commission who had a programme of building at that time. The outline of an even older church on this site can be seen on the south side of the church. It is therefore a very ancient site.
Written records* go back as far as 1591 when Daniel Hennehan (or Lenerghan) was “Rector de Kylmyne” and we know of Allan O’Houlihan c.1432; Donatus O’Donovan c.1463 and Dermot O’Hea 1466 who were pre-reformation clergy here.
Over the years many of the Church of Ireland population has moved away; now we have a growing number of descendents from different parts of the world wanting to come back to see where their forebears once lived and worshipped.
There are two graveyards. The older graveyard on the east side has many old graves including those from famine times without inscriptions.
The newer graveyard around the church itself includes an infamous grave of a former rector whose death was terribly tragic. On the evening of Saturday 1st November 1902 the Rev William Bell was found apparently burned to death in his hay-barn. The first thought was that his paraffin lantern exploded and set fire to the hay. But this supposition soon gave place to evident proofs that he was murdered, for, although his remains were much consumed, he was obviously murdered. His head had been cut off, and could nowhere be found. Suspicion pointed to the sexton called Andrew Moore who thought Bell was having an affair with his wife. Moore was tried and convicted at the Cork assizes in 1903 and was then sent abroad for “penal servitude for life.” (from Cole) The stone over Bell’s remains was paid for “by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese and by clergymen and laymen who knew and honoured him.”
In the tower there is one bell.
The old rectory once stood above the field north of the church, and if you look carefully you can see where the old driveway was - running from a gate near the parish hall. The sexton’s cottage also stood between the hall and the gateway the gateway which now runs into the field.
Today Kilmeen (which was once in the old Ross Diocese and grouped with Castleventry) is part of the Church of Ireland, Kinneigh Union of Parishes in the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross. Much care has been given to this church. More recently the windows on the Southside have been repaired with new lead. The glass is quite rare of its kind.
Sunday services are on a rota (notice board by the church gate) shared with Kinneigh, Desertserges and Farranthomas. Members of the congregations will attend each other’s churches.
For more details ring 023 47047 or go to www.kinneigh.cork.anglican.org.
* all ancient records are now either at Trinity College Dublin or at the RCB Library, Dublin for safe keeping.