placenamesKilsallaghan
Cill Shalcháin
Kilsallaghan's church and graveyard sit within a landscape where conservation and archaeological fieldwork have revealed evidence of much earlier activity.
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
- Cill Shalcháin · Irish · main form · validated name
- Kilsallaghan · English · main form
Place & story
St David’s Church
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage dates St David's Church approximately to 1800. The Church of Ireland building has a small nave, an eastern vestry and a two-stage entrance tower with a battlemented parapet. Its ogee-headed openings give the exterior a distinctive profile. The survey also records an original panelled timber door, a timber gallery and stained glass dating approximately to 1900, identifying several successive elements within the modest building. [2]
Repairing the raised graveyard
Fingal County Council's account of graveyard conservation records the rebuilding of a wall that collapsed after harsh winters and heavy rain. Archaeological supervision accompanied the work. The council notes a broad embankment outside the boundary, probably an earlier ecclesiastical enclosure, and records the gift of St David's to St Thomas's Abbey in Dublin in 1197. The modern church therefore occupies a site with a documented medieval history and possible earlier origins. [3]
Discoveries beneath the surrounding land
Archaeological investigations for the Kilsallaghan solar-farm project revealed remains beyond the churchyard. IAC Archaeology describes geophysical survey followed by targeted test trenches across the development area. The discoveries included prehistoric burnt-mound activity and evidence of medieval and later settlement and industry: ditches, cultivation furrows, a kiln and a brick kiln. Its project account distinguishes these findings from the further measures proposed to limit the development's impact on the remains. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Dublin
- Barony
- Nethercross
- Civil parish
- Kilsallaghan
- Within
- Kilsallaghan
- Coordinates
- 53.47033, -6.32822 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412142 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kilsallaghan. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint David’s Church, Kilsallaghan, 11333001 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Community Monuments Fund: Kilsallaghan Graveyard Works · Fingal County Council
- Kilsallaghan Solar Farm: archaeological investigations · IAC Archaeology
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2011-11-09. How this page was prepared.