St Mary, Dunmanway
The original church of Fanlobbus (or Fanlobish) was just over two miles to the east of the town of Dunmanway where the ruins of an old church can still be seen beside the famine burial ground. It is not known when the first church was built on that site, but a manuscript dated 1591 in the archives of Trinity College, Dublin, refers to a clergyman rejoicing in the name of Dermicius Danielis who was Vicar of Fanlobbus. Records from 1615 report, "the church and chancel in good repair, with books". Through most of the 17th century Fanlobbus, Kinneigh and Ballymoney (parishes to the east) shared the same rector.
On the day before Christmas Eve in 1695, John Patrickson was instituted. By now most parishioners lived in the growing town of Dunmanway and soon the new rector had plans for a church in the town itself. He took services in a house in Dunmanway on three Sundays in the month as well as being responsible for Kinneigh and Drimoleague.
In 1699 Dive Downs was consecrated as the new bishop of Cork and Ross. A man of great energy, he quickly visited the parishes of his diocese - an arduous task in those days of slow travel over rough terrain. By now Fanlobish church was in a dilapidated state. In his diary for 10th August, 1699, Bishop Downs wrote, "the church is covered, but many slates are off; no pulpit nor seats; about half the church is ruinous"! He also noted that Sir Richard Cox and John Patrickson had each put up £100 towards the cost of building a new church in Dunmanway. The bishop seemed sympathetic towards the plans for the new church which was speedily built on the site of the present church. Tradition has it that the new building was dedicated to Saint Mary, in honour of Mary, Lady Cox.
From 1718 -1818 the parish was linked with Drinagh. Gradually the church became too small for its growing congregation which was described as "a well-looking, industrious, thriving people". Then, under the incumbency Edward Saint Lawrence, the old church was demolished and in the cleared ground a new, enlarged church, capable of holding 450 people, was started in 1821 and consecrated in 1822 It needed a loan of £1,384. 12s. 3d., half of which was paid off by 1832 and the remainder by annual instalments of 44. 6s. 2d. Before long the north transept was added and then, during the busy incumbency of George Deacon (1872-1900), the chancel was built on to the east end, the ceiling was replaced with the present pitch-pine roof, and the present pulpit of Caen stone and marble was installed.
The parish still retains its ancient title Fanlobbus, although it is more commonly known as Saint Mary's, Dunmanway. Together with the parish of Coolkelure, Drimoleague and Drinagh, it is a member of the Fanlobbus Union of Parishes.
St Matthew, Drimoleague
In 1591 the parish was reported as being vacant. But in 1615 there was not only a rector, Robert Wilson, but also a curate, Thaddeus McDonnell. Sadly, the church was described as being in a ruinous state of repair. The value of the living was only £5 per annum. By contrast, twenty years later the value of the living had risen to £30 p.a.. Towards the end of the century money was being raised to build a new church. There was no rectory and a house was rented for that purpose.
When Bishop Downes undertook his tour of the parishes in 1699 and 1700 he described the region as "very coarse country". The vicar of Fanlobbus travelled out from Dunmanway once a month to preach, and another local clergyman came on another Sunday in the month. The Bishop described the church as "in repair, only some of the slates are off".
It is not certain when the new church was finally built, but a record from 1837 states that the church which could hold about 180 persons had been built about 50 years previously. At that time the gross population of Drimoleague was noted as 4,870 and it was estimated that the Protestant population was somewhere over 400.
Clearly the new church did not impress, for in 1856 three parishioners granted a half acre of land at Butlersgift as a site for yet another new church. Two years later, on Friday, 10th September, 1858, the this church was dedicated in the name of Saint Matthew. At this time there was still no rectory, but by 1887 a new Glebe House had been built to the south of the village, this despite the fact that the church population had dropped to 300. There were two church schools in the parish - one at Meenies with 21 children and the other at Claddagh with 40 children on the roll.
The parish was united with Caheragh to the south until recent years when it has become part of the Fanlobbus Union of Parishes.
St Edmund, Coolkelure
Coolkelure was originally part of the parish of Fanlobbus, but in 1843 it became a mission district within that parish and was served by a curate with the help of "The Additional Curates' Society". On Saint Patrick's Day, 17th March, 1843, the schoolhouse at Carrigskully owned by Colonel Shuldham, was licensed for divine worship.
As a result of Col. Shuldham's efforts over the next twenty years a church was built at Coolkelure and was consecrated on Tuesday, 15th August, 1865, by Bishop John Gregg. The Bishop and Col. Shuldham contributed £500 each towards the cost of the building. The Bishop also contributed some silver communion plate to the church and provided the stained glass window at the east end of the church. The former mission district was now a parish in its own right.
The Revd E. E. Emerson was the first incumbent of the parish. Before long he was Rural Dean and was seeking contributions to enlarge the church which he felt was too small for the needs of the congregation - 175 on Sunday mornings and 60 in the evening.
We may have cause to be grateful that he was moved to be rector of the more prestigious parish of Ballymodan (Bandon) before his plans were realised, for the church is a delightfully proportioned building, set among mountains, lakes and trees in a beautiful and wild part of County Cork. In late spring the rhododendron bushes around the church give the setting their own special beauty.
Christ Church, Drinagh
The earliest record of the parish comes from a manuscript in Trinity College Dublin stating that in 1591 the Vicar of Drinaughe was Dermicius Donati. He was also Vicar of Kilnemartery in the Diocese of Cloyne on the other side of the city of Cork, about fifty miles away! Twenty five years later it is noted that the vicar is "Con O'Farshame an Irishman" (!) and that the "church and chancel were in good repair, with books".
However, it was more usual for the clergy of the parish to share the cure of one of the neighbouring parishes - normally Kilmeen, and occasionally Kilmaccabee or Castleventry.
By 1699 it appears there was no church and that seven or eight families attended the churches at either Drimoleague or Kilmeen.
Bishop Dives Downes in the diary of his his tour in 1700 reports that it would be more appropriate to join the parish with Fanlobbus to the north or Drimoleague to the west. He describes the church as ruinous.
By 1718 the parish is linked with the cure of Fanlobbus, and fifty years later it shares with Fanlobbus the ministrations of Sir Michael Cox, son of Sir Richard Cox, baronet, Member of Parliament for Clonakilty.
Fifty years later still, in 1818 Drinagh once again has its own vicar and in the following year a church capable of holding 120 persons was built, largely as a result of a gift of £830 15s. 41/2d from the Board of First Fruits. By 1830 the "Protestant population" of the parish was registered as 321 out of a total population of 4,231. The vicar lived in a small rented cottage for which he paid the sum of £20 per annum.
By the end of the nineteenth century the church population had dropped to about 140. But in February 1891 a new and energetic incumbent, John Levingston, was instituted as rector. The old church was deemed to be unsuitable for worship and in 1896 the church was demolished. All that remains of it is the churchyard and the tower- known locally as "The Steeple" - which still stands as an ivy-clad landmark high on the valley side
