placenamesDavidstown
Baile Dháith
A surviving gateway marks Davidstown’s older chapel, while the neighbouring church preserves named craftsmanship in stone, glass and timber.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Baile Dháith · Irish · main form · validated name
- Davidstown · English · main form
Place & story
The gateway of the earlier chapel
A pointed gateway beside Saint David’s survives from the earlier Catholic chapel of 1791. Its brick arch is topped by a small bellcote, with wrought-iron double gates beneath granite-capped piers. The architectural survey records the gateway as already present in 1840, making it a visible link with worship in Davidstown before the present church was built. [2]
The church of 1856
Saint David’s Church was built in 1856 under parish priest Francis Prendergast, with support from the Carew family of Castleboro. Its rectangular body combines warm-coloured fieldstone with granite dressings and a gabled bellcote. Later work in 1934 and 1956 changed the building, while the interior contains a pink-marble altar dated 1931. [3]
Named makers inside
The inventory identifies wall monuments signed by Dublin craftsmen John Coates and James Pearse. The Murphy–Keating memorial window bears the signature of Franz Mayer and Company of Munich and London. Alongside these memorials, the exposed braced timber roof displays the structural work that supports the church’s broad interior. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Davidstown. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Davidstown chapel gateway — NIAH 15702541 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Saint David’s Catholic Church, Davidstown — NIAH 15702542 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.