placenamesKilmore
An Chill Mhór
Excavation beside Saint Aidan’s church revealed an earlier enclosed settlement, while the church itself preserves several later chapters of village history.
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 Chill Mhór · Irish · main form · validated name
- Kilmore · English · main form
Place & story
Ditches beside the churchyard
Excavation before an extension to Saint Aidan's church hall in 2002 uncovered several ditches, a large well and numerous post-holes. Three ditches ran roughly north to south beside the churchyard; their different fills and the features they cut showed that the ground had changed through successive phases. The work provides physical evidence for activity beyond the church building, replacing a simple foundation story with a more complex archaeological sequence. [2]
Objects from the earlier settlement
More than a thousand pottery sherds were recovered, mainly souterrain ware and everted-rim ware. Other finds included iron knives, a bone comb, pin fragments and part of a lignite bracelet. Preserved leather and worked timber came from the large well. These objects bring everyday materials into the story of the early medieval site: personal fittings, vessels and woodworking survive alongside the boundaries traced by the excavators. [2]
Rebuilding Saint Aidan’s
Samuel Lewis recorded that Saint Aidan's was rebuilt in 1814 while retaining its older tower. In 1825 that tower received a copper-covered octagonal spire, funded jointly by the rector and subscribers. His description distinguishes the age of the church body from the surviving tower and its later summit. The building's prominent position made the combined structure a visible landmark, even as its different components belonged to separate periods of construction. [3]
An organ brought from Dublin
The church's William Hill organ was made in 1865 for Trinity Church in Dublin. After that church closed in 1919, Saint Aidan's acquired the instrument and installed it in the west gallery as a memorial to those who served in the First World War. The parish account, published by the National Churches Trust, records both its original home and its memorial role. The organ adds a connection with Dublin's musical and church history to the village building. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Armagh
- Barony
- Oneilland West
- Barony
- Oneilland East
- Civil parish
- Kilmore
- Coordinates
- 54.39864, -6.53709 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 56658 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kilmore. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- 2002:0034 Kilmore, licence AE/02/19 · Norman Crothers, Archaeological Development Services; Excavations.ie
- Kilmore, Armagh, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis; historical text transcribed by Library Ireland
- Saint Aidan, Kilmore: church-provided history · Saint Aidan’s Church, published by National Churches Trust
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-12-20. How this page was prepared.