placenamesBallycommon
Baile Uí Chomáin
The former Church of Ireland building became the focus of a redevelopment that uncovered burials and required a revised design.
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
- Baile Uí Chomáin · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballycommon · English · main form
Place & story
A modest church in its graveyard
Saint Francis’s former Church of Ireland church dates to about 1790. Its short nave, western vestry and limestone bellcote form a compact building within a walled graveyard. Pointed windows and the vestry doorway contrast with the plain rendered walls. The architectural inventory’s 2004 survey recorded its closure and deteriorating condition, providing a dated account of the building before its later redevelopment. [2]
Burials change a redevelopment
Tim Coughlan monitored works for Ballycommon Organisation for Local Development between December 2013 and June 2014. Although earlier clearance had been reported, foundation excavations inside the church uncovered disturbed remains and intact east–west burials. A second cutting revealed further undisturbed graves, including two with coffins. Work stopped, and consultation with the National Museum and National Monuments Service led to preservation of the remaining burials in place. The development was redesigned, abandoning its proposed mezzanine. [3]
Two forms of schooling
Lewis’s 1837 parish account records a subscription-supported school and a hedge school, each teaching about forty children. He also notes the 1817 glebe house and recent grant-funded church repairs. These details show several forms of local investment in education and religious buildings before the Famine. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Offaly
- Barony
- Philipstown Lower
- Coordinates
- 53.30626, -7.39847 (approximate)
- Mapped area
- 26.84 km²
- Logainm ID
- 2004 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballycommon. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint Francis’s Church, Ballycommon, record14918002 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- 2013:183, Ballycommon Saint Francis Church, licence13E0447 · Tim Coughlan, IAC Ltd
- Ballycommon, Offaly: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837 · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.