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Kelkirell is a medieval and late medieval ecclesiastical site comprising a church and graveyard situated near Strabane in County Tyrone. The monument lies on bedrock formed from psammite and pelite of the Southern Highland Group, dating to the Middle Cambrian period, geology that underlies much of the surrounding landscape in this part of Ulster. The site's name appears in historical records in several forms—Cill Chairill and Kylchyrryll among them—reflecting the phonetic variations of Gaelic place-names in written documents.
The church and its associated burial ground represent a significant focus of medieval religious and community life in the Strabane area. Such ecclesiastical sites frequently developed around early monastic foundations or remained as burial grounds and places of worship through successive periods of settlement and reorganisation. The surviving earthworks and structures at Kelkirell preserve evidence of this long-term religious use.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency under reference number 13931, recognising its archaeological and historical importance as a record of medieval religious practice and settlement patterns in the region. The site contributes to understanding the distribution and character of church sites across the wider Strabane landscape during the medieval period.
Kelkirell, cill chairill, kylchyrryll. church & graveyard is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 13931. View the official record →
Kelkirell is a medieval and late medieval ecclesiastical site comprising a church and graveyard situated near Strabane in County Tyrone. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 13931.
Kelkirell, cill chairill, kylchyrryll. church & graveyard dates from the med/l.med period, and is classified as a ecclesiastical site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Kelkirell, cill chairill, kylchyrryll. church & graveyard is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 13931.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Double stone alignment (1.4 km), Fairy bridge. bridge (1.7 km), Giant's grave. court tomb (1.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Kelkirell, cill chairill, kylchyrryll. church & graveyard's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Kelkirell, cill chairill, kylchyrryll. church & graveyard stands on Southern Highland Group, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is psammite and pelite.