placenamesKeenagh Beg
Caonach Beag
Keenagh’s church records a building campaign begun during the First World War.
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
- Caonach Beag · Irish · main form · validated name
- Keenagh Beg · English · main form
- Keenaghbeg · English · main form · local name
Place & story
Building the church
The parish’s centenary booklet dates the laying of the foundation stone to 11 June 1916 and the dedication to 18 August 1918. William Henry Byrne and Son designed the building; Isaac Beckett of Ballina was the contractor. The booklet records that wartime inflation pushed the final cost to almost £3,000, substantially above the original estimate. [2]
A Romanesque design
The national architectural inventory locates the Church of the Holy Souls in Keenagh Beg. Round-headed doors and windows give it a Romanesque character, with grouped windows at the gables and a bellcote rising above the roof. Inside, timber pews carry Maltese-cross details, while the exposed roof retains its timber supports and carved cornice. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Mayo
- Barony
- Tirawley
- Civil parish
- Crossmolina
- Coordinates
- 54.03862, -9.51130 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1417289 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Keenagh Beg. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Holy Souls Keenagh Centenary 1918–2018, page 25: A little bit of Church History · Parish of Crossmolina
- Catholic Church of the Holy Souls, Keenagh Beg, record 31303702 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.