placenamesLoughduff
An Lathaigh Dhubh
Loughduff’s twentieth-century history includes a new Romanesque church, help from an emigrant priest and the transfer of local schooling to Mullahoran.
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
- An Lathaigh Dhubh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Loughduff · English · main form
Place & story
Saint Joseph’s replacement church
Saint Joseph’s church at Loughduff was built in 1910 to replace an earlier chapel to its north. Designed by Thomas Francis McNamara, it uses a cruciform plan and round-headed Romanesque openings, with rendered walls rather than dressed stone. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage highlights its carved timber roof and gallery, marble fittings and historic stained glass by Mayer of Munich. [2]
Help from across the Atlantic
The New Zealand Tablet reported in August 1910 that Loughduff’s new church had opened on 29 June. It credited a major contribution to Father O’Reilly of Brooklyn, who had given £1,500 and promised further help for another church in the district. According to the report, his condition was that the new building should stand on a different site from its predecessor. [3]
The move to a central school
Saint Joseph’s National School at Loughduff operated from 1887 to 1974. When Mullahoran Central School opened on 3 September 1974, it replaced Loughduff along with the schools at Kilcogy and Cloncovid. Paid Fay and May Fay transferred from Loughduff to the new staff, with Paid Fay becoming principal. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Cavan
- Barony
- Clanmahon
- Civil parish
- Drumlumman
- Within
- Drumhawnagh
- Coordinates
- 53.87615, -7.45258 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 127358 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Loughduff. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint Josephs Roman Catholic Church, Drumhawnagh, NIAH 40403109 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Irish News: Cavan, A Generous Gift, New Zealand Tablet,25 August 1910, page 1365 · New Zealand Tablet / National Library of New Zealand
- History of the School: Loughduff predecessor · Mullahoran Central National School
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.