Tinahely's parish church, St. Kevin's church, lies 2 km to the east of the village in the townland of Kilaveny overlooking the valley of the Derry stream.
The church was erected in 1843 when it replaced another structure located in the adjacent townland of Whitefield which had been burned down on November 11, 1798 by Yeomen soldiers in reprisal for local activity during the 1798 Rebellion.
The Whitefield church was replaced by a temporary wooden structure until the erection of St. Kevin's church.
The original structure had been erected during the Penal Laws in 1700 and was cruciform in style with two transepts and a nave.
Nothing now remains of the original church except for the cemetery that was attached to it.
No burials have taken place in the cemetery since the mid 1900s.
In the Jubilee Year 2000, parishioners erected a carved commemorative limestone marker on the site of the original church, in the present Whitefield Cemetery, setting out the above history.
Tinahely's parish church, St. Kevin's church, lies 2 km to the east of the village in the townland of Kilaveny overlooking the valley of the Derry stream. The church was erected in 1843 when it replaced another structure located in the adjacent townland of Whitefield which had been burned down on November 11, 1798 by Yeomen soldiers in reprisal for local activity during the 1798 Rebellion. The Whitefield church was replaced by a temporary wooden structure until the erection of St. Kevin's church. The original structure had been erected during the Penal Laws in 1700 and was cruciform in style with two transepts and a nave. Nothing now remains of the original church except for the cemetery that was attached to it. No burials have taken place in the cemetery since the mid 1900s. In the Jubilee Year 2000, parishioners erected a carved commemorative limestone marker on the site of the original church, in the present Whitefield Cemetery, setting out the above history.
Tinahely