Overview
The tall spire over Clones, County Monaghan, belongs to St Tiernach’s Church of Ireland, built in the 1820s on ground that has been in religious use for something like 1,300 years. The monastery St Tighernach founded here around 500 AD made Clones an important church centre; the round tower and high cross a short walk away are what survive of it. The present church is the latest building on the site, and for a few decades in the 19th century it was one of the more important churches in Ulster.
From monastery to parish church
St Tighernach – anglicised Tiernach, and the town’s patron saint – founded a monastery here around the year 500. A map of Clones drawn in 1589 still showed a ruined monastic church on the spot, and a date stone carved 1696, now set into the boundary wall, probably belonged to a later church that stood here before this one.
By the early 1800s that church was in poor structural condition, and the parish built its replacement between 1823 and 1825. It went up plainly, without transepts or a chancel. Those came a generation later. From 1850 to 1886 the Church of Ireland diocese of Clogher was united with Armagh under the Primate, and St Tiernach’s served as a pro-cathedral for that combined see; the transepts were added in 1857 to suit its new status, and the church now seats over 900.
The building is bound up with the Rev. Thomas Hand and his wife Cassandra, who did a great deal to relieve suffering in the district during the Great Famine. A memorial plaque to Cassandra is set in the chancel – worth seeking out if you catch the church open.
The churchyard and what’s nearby
The churchyard is the part most visitors actually walk, and it is better for being left to age rather than landscaped. Weathered headstones carry Celtic crosses and the occasional skull-and-crossbones, a motif that turns up on 17th- and 18th-century Irish memorials. Morning light rakes across the older stones and picks out carving that flattens at midday. The grounds are open through daylight hours.
If you have time for only one thing in Clones, make it the medieval monuments rather than the church interior, which is often locked outside service times. Both are a few minutes away on foot:
- Clones Round Tower – in the old monastic graveyard, about 75 feet tall with square-headed windows, missing its original conical cap and not open to climb. More on the Clones historic religious sites page.
- The Clones High Cross – on the Diamond in the town centre, a tall carved cross with biblical panels.
- Clones Heritage Trail – a self-guided route linking the church, round tower, high cross and other landmarks.
- Clones Lace Museum – a five-minute walk, telling the story of the fine crocheted lace that became a local export. See the Clones Lace Museum page.
Practical information
St Tiernach’s is an active parish church, so it does not keep the fixed hours of a heritage site. The churchyard and exterior are open through daylight hours; the interior opens for services, currently around once a fortnight on Sunday mornings, and by prior arrangement. To see inside outside a service, contact the parish office ahead.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Opening | Churchyard open daylight hours. Interior open during services (roughly fortnightly) and by arrangement. |
| Admission | Free |
| Accessibility | Paved paths reach the main entrance. Interior steps and pews may limit wheelchair access during services. |
| Parking | Free at the Town Hall car park, a five-minute walk; street parking on surrounding roads. |
| Nearby amenities | Cafés, pubs and the Ulster Canal information point are all within walking distance. |
Clones sits just south of the border, about two hours from Dublin, and its compact centre is easy on foot. Park at the Town Hall and take the church, round tower and high cross as one short loop – and time the churchyard for the morning, when low light brings out the carving on the oldest stones.