St Patrick

The present church of St Patrick dating from 1912 replaced the earlier church of St Joseph located on the high side of the road on ground incorporating the original graveyard. St Patrick's church, Gothic Revival in style, was commissioned and executed under the authority of Revd James McGoerty PP, architect JP McGrath of Derry, and Contractor Michael Sweeney of Derry.

The building remains essentially in it’s original form and layout, though limited internal changes were carried out in response to the outcome dictates from the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. The listed church is located in the scenic Glenelly valley in the village of Cranagh and on a significant tourist route. The church sits below the road on an east/west axis, is of rectangular nave plan with narrowed gabled chancel to the east and attached gabled sacristy to the north; the single storey gabled entrance porch is located to the west. All roofing elements are of natural slated slopes with clay roll top ridge tiles and corbelled projecting eaves. Both main and secondary gables have raised plaster/concrete gable verges with trefoil moulded gablets to bases and midpoints over moulded kneeler cast stones. These cast/moulded elements do much to enrich the external presentation. The west/entrance gable carries a bell and bellcote at its apex. The sacristy roof is topped by a plastered chimney containing the flue from a basement boiler house. Walls are of solid masonry, rendered and painted with buttresses to north and south main elevations giving a strong visual expression. Windows are pointed arched headed with Y tracery containing good quality original leaded stained glass. The galleried interior and prominent timber roof trusses and timber sheeted ceilings retains its original character, though with 1990 modifications to the sanctuary layout which removed earlier 1930s furnishings of side altars and reredos.