Our Lady of Lourdes (RC) Church, Lurganconary Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34

Our Lady of Lourdes is a Roman Catholic church at Lurganconary Road, Kilkeel, built in Hiberno-Romanesque style. The foundation stone was laid by the Most Reverend Joseph McRory, Bishop of Down and Connor, on 2 November 1924, and the church was dedicated in August 1926. It was designed by architects Byrne, E & J.

The building is aligned north-south on the south side of Lurganconary Road. It is constructed of random rock-faced granite blocks with a chamfered basecourse and corbel-table to the eaves, some smooth dressed detailing throughout. The pitched natural slate roof has decorative black clay ridges and cast iron ogee gutters with box section downpipes.

The north-facing façade is gabled with a moulded granite coping topped by a Celtic cross finial. A round tower in four stages stands to the right of the façade. The main wall is recessed and framed by advanced piers continuing up each side of the gable as a stepped corbel-table. Below this is a canted flush ashlar cill course at the spring of the main entrance arch.

The main entrance at ground floor centre consists of a pair of framed and sheeted stained timber leaves with decorative strap hinges, set within a semicircular-headed Romanesque doorway in ashlar granite. Each jamb contains a polished pink granite colonette with moulded base and simple Romanesque capital supporting the moulded voussoired head. The head is decorated with a granite hood and plain cuboid label-stops. A decorative gable surmounts the doorway, granite coped with a shamrock finial, plain roundel, and knee-stones. Flanking the entrance at arch crown level are two small semicircular-headed stained glass Romanesque windows with fielded arris and double voussoired heads. Above the entrance gable are three large tall windows, the central one taller and wider, with a small circular louvred vent in the gable above.

The round tower abuts the right corner pier of the façade in four diminishing stages, each separated by a canted ashlar plat-band. The first stage, the tallest, has a small window to the façade and one slightly higher on its right side. The second stage, rising above the eaves of the main block, has four small windows to the cardinal points, each with one-piece lintels etched out of the stone. The third stage steps in slightly with similar detailing. The fourth stage is the belfry, with a single Romanesque opening on each compass point, each with a demi-colonette to its reveals and cushion-moulded capitals. Between these openings are recessed wall panels with semicircular heads. A cavetto moulded eaves course rises to a conical ashlar granite roof of eight courses, each slightly raised and topped with a ball-finial supporting a cross.

The side elevations of the main block are composed of six bays, each with a central recessed panel between piers containing a pair of tall windows. The left elevation is abutted by a sacristy, the remainder continuing as described. The right elevation has a porch abutting the fourth bay from the left, which retains corbelled eaves. The porch has a pitched natural slate roof with raised and coped parapet and Celtic cross finial. Its walls match the main block, and it contains two tall windows between which is an ashlar granite plaque inscribed "THIS STONE WAS LAID BY / MOST REV JOSEPH McRORY D.D. / BISHOP OF DOWN AND CONNOR / ON 2ND NOV. 1924. / VERY REV. BERNARD LAVERTY V.F. / BEING THEN P.P. OF UPPER MOURNE". The south wall of the porch is blank, whilst its north wall features a modern brick ramp with metal handrail leading to a pair of timber doors with strap hinges and shouldered heads, set within ashlar granite reveals with stop-end chamfered treatment.

The rear gable is abutted by a sanctuary sharing the main roof but narrower in extent. The exposed gable of the main block has a raised parapet with blank walls. The sanctuary has higher eaves with plain brackets and a raised, coped gable topped with a Celtic cross finial. High on the gable are a pair of tall stained glass Romanesque windows with an infilled circular vent above. To the left and right cheeks near the eaves is a single small Romanesque window. On the right cheek, to the right of the window, is an ashlar granite chimney rising from the eaves.

The sanctuary is abutted below by a sacristy, which also abuts the left bay of the main block's left elevation. The sacristy has a lean-to natural slate roof with walls matching the main block. Its rear gable contains two 1/1 sliding sash windows with canted flush cills and flat heads. Its east-facing elevation has three similar windows and a flight of basement steps enclosed by a coped granite wall, with a modern door and blocked window at the base. Its north-facing gable contains a doorway with timber door dressed as that to the porch.

To the rear right is a modern granite grotto with statues of St Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes. The site is bounded to the rear and sides by hedges. The northern boundary is enclosed by a dashed wall with plain modern railings and a concave central gate screen. Terminating either end and framing the gates are ashlar piers with segmental copings, each face incised with a Maltese cross.

An illustration of Ballyclare Catholic Church shows it to be almost identical to this building.