St Nicholas Church Castlelyons
Built in 1845 by Fr. Patrick Duggan, this church replaced an older thatched penal church. It was renovated in the 1870′s by Fr. William O’Brien, when a Gothic roof and belfry were added. Fathers Thomas Ferris and Daniel McSweeney are interred in the nave. The well known author Canon Peter O’Leary (An t’Athair Peadair O’ Laoghaire) is buried in the church yard.
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary Coolagown
Coolagown church was built in the 1840’s on the site of another smaller, thatched building. During the Land War when a number of tenants were evicted from their farms, Coolagown Church was the scene of a confrontation between the local people in 1890 when emergency workers were refused admission to Mass. As a result, a number of local people were prosecuted and the local school headmaster was dismissed from his post. In 1964, a set of Stations of the Cross were presented to the church by a New York committee in memory of the Kent family of Bawnard.
