The year of 2002 A.D. was the bicentenary of the Parish Church of St. Mary. This mother church of Kilmore has been the principal local landmark in the parish for these two hundred years.

It was not, however, the first church on the site - a thatched mud-walled chapel which, local lore has it, was harrowed out through the door of the new church, the walls being built around it. The stones for the work came from the now disused quarry on Keating's Island

This was preceded by the Church of Cuana in Kilturk, finally demolished in 1810. In penal times there was probably a chapel at Long Chapel and one at St John's Well. The Church of St Patrick in Grange, kept by the monks of Tintern to whom the parish was endowed in 1245, served the people until the Dissolution, which process began in Ireland in 1535. St Mary's was designed by William Day of Gollough and erected through the contributions of the local people.

Whether the bell tower was erected as part of the first phase, which consisted of the nave only as the building work predated the Duke of Wellington's Catholic Emancipation. This was a time when the Wexford Rebellion was still seething, Ireland was united at least legally with Britain and Napoleon was 'uniting' Europe. The church has an air of solidity about it, where it stands behind its protective boundary railings, on a rise of ground in the village. Its distinctive bell-tower, erected in 1889 by Frank Cousins, is a landmark from the Burrow to the head of Gollough straight. The church was built by Fr Andrew Corish P.P., who is buried with his family in Bannow. The interior of the church carries this same air of solidity. The striking feature of a double row of pillars, which carry the barrel-vaulted ceiling, define the nave. This is the original church, which was extended in 1898 by the addition of St Joseph's, part of which must have served as a sacristy as it is known locally as The Vestry'.

The church was consecrated and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Anne and St Joseph, by Bishop Browne on August 28th, 1902.

The cruciform shape was completed in 1935 by the addition of The Nuns' annex or St Anne's. This was screened in keeping with the mores of the time, which required the Sisters to be apart from the world. The Sisters of St John of God have been a part of the parish and its people since coming there a hundred and more years ago. The screen, the gallery at the back of the church, and the wooden pulpit, all went in the 1974 renovation.

The present sacristy was added by Archdeacon Furlong who also had the first heating installed. The space under the bell-tower was first used as a morgue but it is now a shrine to Our Lady.

The church was renovated and brought into line with Vatican II by Archdeacon Gaul in 1974. The altar stone was replaced by a new one, made from the existing stones in the two side-altars and part of the altar rail. The sanctuary on three levels, is spacious and salutary, a fine Sacred Heart window at the back overlooking the nave. The seating, which can accommodate upwards of five hundred and fifty people, was replaced by, Fr Pat Furlong (1986-2003), who has through tasteful decoration and maintenance, particularly of the stained-glass windows, made this house of Mary's family a house for her Son in which we can take pride and pass time in prayer.

The windows in the church are dedicated to the theme of the Litany of the B VM. They represent, starting in St Joseph's, clockwise; Tower of David, Gate of Heaven, Seat of Wisdom, Mystical Rose, Arc of the Covenant, Tower of Ivory, House of Gold, Mirror of Justice. The windows in St Joseph's are dedicated to St Nicholas, and to Michael, the Archangel, and the striking three-panel one is dedicated to the Holy Family.

The marble tabernacle and ambo stand either side of the altar, the Maltese cross, the restored hanging lamp, the fine organ, built in the late eighteen-hundreds, and priests' seats complete the features of a sanctuary which is always graced with flowers. The organ was once in the gallery and required to be pumped while being played until electrified.

Three statues remain in the church, The Virgin, St Joseph and St Gall. A black baptismal font and holy water font in the main porch are in contrast to the other fittings. The embroidered panel representing the Funeral Crosses in the Skeough acknowledges the ancient Kilmore custom and interlinks all that the parish church stands for with the lives of the people. This, of course, is never more in evidence than during the singing of the Kilmore Carols, which themselves link the penal past with parish life of the present. Kilmore is known throughout Ireland because of these carols and they have in the parish church a fitting setting in these modern days

Kilmore Presbytery

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