placenamesLettermacaward
Leitir Mhic an Bhaird
Lettermacaward’s churchyard, former rectory and Gweebarra crossing preserve successive layers of religious and transport history.
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
- Leitir Mhic an Bhaird · Irish · main form · validated name
- Lettermacaward · English · main form
Place & story
An older church beside the parish church
Lettermacaward’s Church of Ireland church was built in 1788 beside the remains of an earlier church. Its compact nave retains a carved sandstone bell-cote, slate roof and pointed windows with timber tracery. The surrounding graveyards, stone walls and ironwork give the buildings a shared setting. The older ruin stands to the south, allowing two periods of church building to be read together at the site. [2]
The glebe house of 1828
The former glebe house in the nearby townland of Glebe dates from 1828 and received financial assistance from the Board of First Fruits. Its classical exterior differs from the pointed church windows: a fanlight marks the entrance, approached by cut-stone steps, while the upper windows diminish in size. A cobbled rear yard and stone outbuildings preserve the working surroundings of the former rectory. [3]
Crossing the Gweebarra
The Gweebarra crossing linked communities on either side of the estuary. A library heritage account records ferries before bridge construction and identifies a later iron bridge that became inadequate for motor traffic. Its replacement was completed in 1953. An invitation reproduced with the account dates the official opening to 15 February 1954, distinguishing the completion of the structure from its formal inauguration. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Donegal
- Barony
- Boylagh
- Civil parish
- Lettermacaward
- Within
- Lettermacaward
- Within
- Madavagh
- Coordinates
- 54.84729, -8.32695 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1396258 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Lettermacaward. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Lettermacaward Church, Meenagowan, survey 40906502 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- The Old Rectory, Glebe, survey 40906503 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Connecting communities: Gweebarra Bridge, The Bridges of Donegal · Ask About Ireland, library heritage collection
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2010-04-19. How this page was prepared.