St. Patrick's Church, Tahilla

St. Patrick's Church, Tahilla, built in 1873, replaced the previous church in Old Tahilla village. The date of the church ruin in the nearby graveyard, Baile na hEaglaise (town land of the church), in Ankail, is unknown, but the name might indicate a post twelve century date. There may have been an earlier Christian foundation there as the site was also known as “Cill”. The names of ten other ecclesiastical sites contain the elements “Cill”, “Cillín” or “Cellúnach”, which allows them, together with an unnamed small burial place, to be assigned to the early Christian period.

St. Patrick's Church at Tahilla Bridge was renovated in 1958/9. At the time of renovation, it seems that all but two of the windows in the main building of Tahilla church were donated. There are twenty-seven windows in the main church, and three in the Sacristy. The floor was also tiled, and new Stations of the Cross were erected. Marble dashing was applied to the outside of the church. There was a considerable amount of voluntary work undertaken in the grounds by local men, such as removing trees and tree roots. They also built a wall outside the church. Father Denis Curran, the parish priest at the time, would call at evening time with some refreshments and Guinness for the workmen, and soft drinks for the children. The collection point for the creamery was located outside the gate of the main church.

In the 1950s and 1960s the church was full to capacity for Sunday Mass; the population has decreased rapidly since then. In the 1940s and 1950s most people walked to Mass, some came on bicycles and a few by horse and trap. In later years, as the motor car became popular, a piece of ground was purchased opposite the church and a car park was made.

There was a story told long ago about a priest who used to travel on horseback. He stopped at Tahilla Church to get the Blessed Sacrament. A man was standing outside the church, and the priest asked him to hold his horse. The man said he would not, and the priest said, “Do you know I have the power to stick you to the road if you don't do as I say?” The man replied, “Why don't you stick the horse to the road so if you have that power?”