Creggan Parish Church, Counth Armagh, Ireland

Creggan Parish Church, Armagh County Ireland

In my search to find Patrick Craguns father, Caleb (the spelling is still to be figured out) I spent much of the afternoon reading through records of The Creggan Parish Church, Counth Armagh, Ireland.

My hope was to find some record of Caleb and how his name was spelled. Even a family member would have been great. No such luck.

However, I did find some interesting journal entries I thought I would share:

This parish serves served several towns, Cregganduff being one of them. Note another spelling.

There is a Creggan river that runs by the church. (near the Glassdrummen Castle)

A quote: "A Creggan Parish tradition that sometimes rears in the parish is in this effect, that at one time an ancient buriel ground, occupied a portion of a field in the possession of a Mr Donaghy, on the left hand side of the road leading from Creggan to Crossmaglen, a distance of one field away from same road. As certain mourners were about to ener the body of a departed friend, they heard a bell tolling. This mysterious and unseen bell as a warning to them that they should not perservere in the internment of the body there. They deserted from their orignal mention and were guided by the souond of the bell, which they followed until they came to a spot where the Creggan parish church now stands and there they laid the corpse to rest."

An entry on weddings: "Weddins in the old days were on foot, but them that horses rid them. A good weddin then was worth lukin at."

"Big Charlie Carragher was keeper of the Dorsey Pound. He began his career with cattle stealing but eventually committed a murder for which he suffer the death penalty at Bullsmills."

"People build a haunted house at 6 pence per day wages."

A 1743 request of the Lord Duke of Devonshire - Gen Governer of Ireland: People in Cragger were so uncultivated that it became a refuge for thieves. By giving proper encouragement to Protestants it of late became civilized and improved. A meeting house was built for their continued teaching. Recently it has been burned down. Will the Honorable Lord Duke of Devonshire conceive of a proper reward to discover the author of this horrid and deter them from future attempts and greatly conduce to the increase of Protestants in the Barony?"

"Creggin" a long reach of territory with moras, bog, and river called in ancient times "The Precint of the Fews". In the upper part of this district lies the parish of Creggan. Morally and geographically it was perhaps oone of the wildest parts of Ireland - the scene of most of the adroit and daring exploits of Redmond O Manlon, the Robin Hood of Irish robber romance. It's first traits of Protestants dates back to as far as 1615.