clonfeacle parish church

Clonfeacle parish church (1618), outside the priory gates, is one of the oldest churches in regular use in the province. Basically a hall(the belfry tower was added in 1892), the church has a seventeenth century font and bell, and a monument to Captain James Hamilton. Hamilton was one of 3000 Scots killed at the battle of Benburb in 1646. Led by Major General Robert Monroe, the Scots were routed in a disastrous encounter with Owen Roe O'Neill, charismatic nephew of the great Hugh O'Neill. The Irish are said to have lost only forty men.