Holy Family Church Coalisland

Holy Family Church, Plater’s Hill, Coalisland

The main and largest church in the parish is also the newest.  Holy Family Church was opened in 1980 to replace St. Mary & St Joseph’s, Brackaville Road which was too small to accommodate the growing population.  Holy Family Church was designed by Rooney & McConville architects and built by O’Neill & Brady.  The church is built of red brick made from clay quarried within the area.  It was opened on Sunday 11^th May 1980 by Cardinal Tomas O’Fiaich.

St Mary & St Joseph’s Brackaville

St. Mary & St. Joseph’s, Brackaville.

During the 1850’s the catholic population of Coalisland was increasing whilst at the same time the population of Stewartstown was in decline.  In 1853 Fr Peter Daly was appointed parish priest and set about building a new church at the graveyard in Coalisland. Due to lack of financial support in that period following The Famine and other reasons it took nearly a decade to finish the work.  But by 1862 the church of St. Mary & St. Joseph’s was consecrated.  It is believed that John O’Neill who was the architect for St. Mary’s church was also the architect on St. Mary & St. Joseph’s.

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St Mary’s Church Stewartstown

St. Mary’s Church, Stewartstown

The current church of St. Mary in Stewartstown was opened in 1845 but was not the first church on the site. In 1797 Fr. James Devlin of Clonoe built a thatched church on the site of an old quarry. That church was destroyed in 1829 but was repaired and then replaced by the present building.