St Mary's RC Church, Cloghcor Road, Artigarvan, Strabane, Co Tyrone, BT82 0BE

St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1823, stands on an elevated site at the north side of Cloghcor Road in Artigarvan. This simple early nineteenth-century church holds particular significance for the local community as it predates Catholic Emancipation and marks the transition from outdoor mass celebrations to a permanent place of worship. The church was erected on land provided by the Abercorn family, replacing or superseding the "altar green" where mass had traditionally been celebrated in the open air.

The church is rectangular on plan, with pitched natural slate roofing and sandstone verges on moulded kneelers topped with gablets at the ends and mid-level, along with foliated cross finials to all gables. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods serve the building. The walling is painted roughcast with straight channelled quoins over a rendered plinth. The south-facing entrance gable is abutted at its centre by a single-storey gabled porch, erected around 1920. The porch features a hipped natural slate roof with crested terracotta ridge tiles. Its entrance comprises a lancet window flanked by sidelights, with a stone trefoil panel inset to the porch apex. Two datestones are mounted above the porch: the upper reads "Built A.D.1823 by The Revd. W. O'Kane RR / Repaired A.D 1896 / by the Revd S. Connolly RR", while the lower records "Built A.D 1823 / By subscriptions collected / By the Revd. William O'Kane PP / and Francis O'Neill Esq." Gothic arched entrances with replacement timber sheeted doors and decorative bronze pull-handles flank the porch cheeks.

Windows throughout are lancet-headed with timber stained glass, hood moulds, tooled painted stone chamfered reveals, and flush splayed sills. The west elevation is four windows wide, while the east elevation has three windows to the left of a vestry addition. The north gable is blank. The vestry, built around 1840, has a hipped roof and contains paired lancets to its north and east elevations; its south elevation features a shoulder-arch-headed reveal containing a square-headed door with small rectangular windows to either side.

The church underwent extensive remodelling before the end of the nineteenth century. In 1895, when Fr Sam Connolly was appointed, urgent repairs were necessary to prevent roof collapse. The 1896 restoration transformed both external and internal appearance, introducing light-handed Gothic detailing that remain noteworthy. The early building was basic in construction, with the altar area and porch requiring addition or repair as early as the 1840s.

Vatican II changes during the mid-twentieth century resulted in the loss of most altar furniture and fittings. The remainder of the interior retains its late nineteenth-century details and atmosphere, preserving evidence of the 1896 works.

The church sits within a churchyard containing gravemarkers dating from the early nineteenth century to the present. A tarmac car park occupies the western side, and the churchyard is bounded by a roughcast wall, stepped to accommodate the southern slope. Access is via a pair of modern steel gates on square piers with pyramidal coping. Directly to the west stands a freestanding belfry, a distinctive decorative cast-iron frame supporting a bronze bell and wheel, inscribed with the maker's mark "M. Byrne / Dublin". This exposed bell mechanism and the varied gravemarkers make the elevated site a prominent rural feature.

Historical records confirm the church's presence: it appears on the first three Ordnance Survey editions (1832–3, 1853, and 1905), captioned as "R.C. Chapel" on the first two and "St Mary's R.C. Church" on the third. The 1833 Townland Valuation Record lists it as an "R.C. Chapel and yard" valued at £8 14s 0d. Griffith's Valuation (1856–1864) records measurements of the main church (64 by 35 by 14 feet), the new vestry, and other projections, with a total valuation of £13 10s. The Marquis of Abercorn is recorded as leaseholder in the Annual Revision Records (1860–1929).