placenamesDoon
Dún Bleisce
An ornate chapel, the end of a religious community and a country house extend the parish’s history beyond its village origins.
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
- Dún Bleisce · Irish · main form · validated name
- Dún · Irish · main form · historical name
- Dún Ó gCuanach · Irish · main form · historical name
- Doon · English · main form
Place & story
The convent chapel
The Convent of Mercy chapel in Lisgaugh bears the date 1883. Its design uses classical features: Doric-style pilasters and substantial pediments outside, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and marble columns carrying Corinthian-style capitals inside. The architectural inventory places it within a group that includes the convent and national school. These features distinguish the chapel from the Gothic Revival churches commonly built during the same period. [2]
Leaving Doon in 2016
Mercy O’Dea’s account for the congregation records the convent’s closure on 1 July 2016. Seven sisters were preparing to leave, with books, household contents and accumulated possessions being sorted and an auction held. The account also recalls visiting sick and elderly parishioners as a continuing part of their work. It documents the ending of a resident community after 151 years. [3]
Castle Garde
In Castlegarde townland, within Doon civil parish, Hugh M. O’Grady held Castle Garde in fee at Griffith’s Valuation. The University of Galway catalogue cites Powell’s attribution of its construction around 1830 to Hugh’s father, Waller O’Grady. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Doon. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Convent of Mercy chapel, NIAH21809007 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- The End Of An Era, Doon Convent2016 · Mercy O’Dea, Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy
- Castle Garde, property2517 · University of Galway Landed Estates Database
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.