St. Columba's Catholic Church

Freestanding Catholic church, dated 1903, having six-bay double-height hall with polygonal apse to the south-west, three-bay single-storey sacristy attached to the south-west corner of south-east elevation of nave, and with central single-bay single-storey gable-fronted porch to the centre of the entrance gable (north-east), added 1943-4. Pitched natural slate roof to main body of building having corbelled (ashlar?) eaves course, profiled cast-iron profiled rainwater goods, and with timber cross finials to gable apexes (north-east and south-west); hipped natural slate roof to apse having corbelled eaves course with profiled rainwater goods; pitched natural slate roof to sacristy having corbelled eaves course with profiled rainwater goods, and with rendered chimneystack to the south-east gable end; pitched natural slate roof to porch having corbelled eaves course with profiled rainwater foods, raised rendered verge to the north-east gable end having Celtic cross finial to gable apex, and with moulded cut stone kneeler stones at eaves level. Smooth rendered ruled-and-lined rendered walls over projecting smooth rendered eaves course; projecting ashlar granite block and start quoins to corners of main body of building, sacristy and to porch. Foundation stone (on rectangular-plan) to the south-east side of entrance porch having chamfered cut stone(?) surround and incised text reading ‘LAPIS HUJUS SANCTI COLUMBAE ECCLESIAS PRIMARIUS DIE 17 MARTU 1903 SOLEMNITER EST POSITUS’. Round-headed window openings to side elevations of nave and to apse having painted stone sills and leaded coloured or stained glass windows; pictorial stained glass windows to apse and to south-west elevation of main body of church. Round-headed recessed panel over porch to front elevation (north-east) having three graded round-headed windows with leaded stained glass windows, smooth rendered block-and-start surround, and with smooth rendered archivolt\hoodmoulding over; round-headed window openings to front elevation (flanking central porch) and to the front face of porch (north-east) having leaded diamond-pane windows with coloured glass, smooth rendered block-and-start surrounds, and with stucco archivolt\hoodmouldings over. Square-headed window openings to sacristy having one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows to the front elevation (north-east) with margin glazing bars and with multi-pane timber sliding sash windows to the rear (south-west). Square-headed doorway to the north-east face of sacristy having battened timber door. Exposed arch-braced timber trusses to interior resting on corbels, and with timber sheeted ceiling; timber pews, marble altar goods, and having decorative encaustic tiled floor to porch with timber panelled half-glazed double doors. Set back from road in own grounds to the west of the centre of Kilmacrenan. Freestanding belfry to the north having smooth rendered uprights supporting bell metal bell with cast-iron supports. Enclosure to the south-east side of nave containing three Celtic cross type memorials to former parish priests; grave enclosure surrounded by low rendered plinth wall with rendered coping and wrought-iron railings over with cast-iron finials. Wrought-iron flat bar gate to the north end of front elevation. Gravel forecourt to the north-east bounded to the north-west by smooth rendered boundary wall. Detached three-bay two-storey presbytery\parochial house adjacent to the south-west having pitched natural roof with a central pair of smooth rendered chimneystacks, , smooth rendered walls, square-headed window openings with replacement fittings, and central segmental-headed doorway with timber panelled door, sidelights over timber panels, corbelled brackets supporting timber lintel, and with spoked fanlight over. Garden to front of parochial house (north-east) bounded on road-frontage by rendered boundary wall.