Banagher Old Church – Graveyard, Carnanbane Road, Dungiven, Co Londonderry

Banagher Old Church Graveyard

An old graveyard of at least mid-medieval origin, sited on the crest of a small hill in the townland of Carnanbane, adjacent to monastic remains. The graveyard has an interesting plan form and contains the ruins of Banagher old church, the tomb of St O'Heney, an ancient stone cross, and 18th and 19th-century grave slabs. Just outside the north-east boundary is an old font or ballaun.

The graveyard is a small enclosure surrounding the ruins of the old church. The graves are dotted about the slopes, which in places are quite steep. Three sides are bounded by random rubble walls functioning as retaining walls, with the western side bounded by a hedge. There are two well-constructed entrances with random rubble square piers, capping stones, and wrought iron gates. In places the surrounding walls exceed 1800mm in height. From the principal gates a gravel path leads to the west door of the church, and another path from the church leads to the side gates, which are accessed by a short lane from an adjacent farmhouse yard.

Apart from the O'Heney tomb and the ancient stone cross, pre-Plantation graves are difficult to distinguish. Few 17th or 18th-century slabs or headstones survive outside the confines of the ruined church itself. A number of 19th-century and later headstones, grave slabs, and table slabs are present, including that of Archibald Buchanan, who died on 27 October 1808 aged 85 and was related to the Buchanans of Magheramore.

The ancient stone cross stands near the side gates within the graveyard, approximately 750mm high with a very short cross head and about 300mm wide on the face. It is badly eroded with no distinguishing marks. Just outside the graveyard at the north-east end is a ballaun or font set flush with the grass surface. The stone is oval in plan, measuring 850mm by 550mm, with a sinking 300mm by 250mm and approximately 250mm deep from the rim. The stone is black in colour with indeterminate stone type. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs, this stone was removed to its present position by the father of Buchanan.

Historical evidence suggests the graveyard is of medieval origin. Leslie's Clergy of Derry and Raphoe records that the Church of Banagher was chosen by Primate Colton for his Visitation of Derry in 1397, when he conducted a service of reconciliation in the cemetery because blood had been shed there. The church appears to have been ruinous during the post-Plantation period, though parish clerks and church wardens are recorded. Burials in the graveyard appear to have been continuous, and many grave slabs and headstones have been removed and covered over. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs reference proposed "Restoration of Ancient Church" and removal of graves piled against the northern wall. It is likely that all denominations continued using the graveyard for burials.