placenamesClare
An Clár
Clare in Tullylish parish is closely associated with Saint Colman’s church, known locally as “The Clare”, and its extensive burial ground.
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 Clár · Irish · main form · validated name
- Clare · English · main form
Place & story
The church and its community
Tullylish parish’s history records that Hugh O’Kelly had a chapel built at Clare on the site of an earlier Mass House destroyed in a sectarian attack. Saint Colman’s celebrated its bicentenary in September 2005. In 1967 the interior had been extensively reorganised, arranging the congregation around the altar in response to changing liturgical practice. [2] [3]
A burial ground serving the district
The graveyard beside Saint Colman’s is extensive, partly because nearby Gilford lacked a Catholic cemetery. In his 1971 survey of north-west Down graveyards, Richard S. J. Clarke recorded Clare’s oldest stone as commemorating Henry O’Neill, who died in 1824. The stone was already broken when Clarke described it. He also noted early memorials bearing the names Kennedy, McConville, McCusker, McMullan, Murphy and Skeath. [3] [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Down
- Barony
- Iveagh Lower, Upper Half
- Civil parish
- Tullylish
- Coordinates
- 54.40482, -6.32123 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1413227 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Clare. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- 19th Century — Tolerence and Progress · Tullylish Parish
- St. Colman’s Church, Clare · Tullylish Parish
- The Graveyards of North-West Down, Review volume 2 number 1 (1971) · Richard S. J. Clarke; Craigavon Historical Society
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2019-10-08. How this page was prepared.