St. Imy’s Church

You have now come as far as one of the local churches. Before Moneypoint was built you can imagine what a beautiful view this would have been out over the Shannon. Built in c.1829 it was a typical cruciform building that underwent many changes over time. The elders of the area remembered hearing that some of the stones from Cathair na gCath, a local fort that you will hear more about later, were transported by horse and dray, at the bequest of a local priest, to be used in the construction of the present church of St. Imy. They recalled the difficult pull up to Chapel Hill. This order was carried out much to the chagrin of the locals, who were loath to interfere with the forts for fear of misfortune and bad luck, but they dared not go against the orders of the priest.

On looking at the aisles, one major difference becomes apparent in that the left aisle is longer than the right. The explanation for this goes back to the 1890s when a small school was built outside the wall of that aisle. Following the building of Killimer School, this small school was no longer needed and was incorporated in to the church building to accommodate the congregation. The shorter right aisle featured a gallery, thus boosting accommodation capacity. The interior woodwork of ceiling and roof was unique, in that each roof truss rests on cut limestone supports protruding from the wall. Though this beautiful church underwent extensive renovations over time, it still retains its original woodwork and craftsmanship and is still a place of worship each Sunday for the local community. It should be remembered that the parish derives its name Killimer from the Irish for the Church of Imy.

And while this is an old church we found proof in Pettys map in 1663 that there was an even older chapel in existence here before the penal laws.