Kilraughts Graveyard

Old records show that a prehistoric stone circle once stood near the Kilraughts Graveyard. In the neighbouring townland of Drumaqueran, a Christian Chi-Rho symbol from the fifth century is carved into a standing stone.  These ancient monuments show that this area has been a place of ritual and religious importance for centuries.

The earliest reference to a church at Kilraughts dates from 1306. At that time, Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Down would have conducted the worship.  When the old church was vacated in 1662, a Presbyterian meetinghouse was built on the hill of Carnageeragh where the present church stands.

The graveyard has been in continuous use for hundreds of years and some local families can trace their ancestors on headstones from the eighteenth century.