Maghera Churches and Round Tower
| Maghera Old Church and Round Tower | |
|---|---|
Ruins of the old church | |
| Type | Ecclesiastical ruins |
| Location | Maghera, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°14′15″N 5°53′45″W / 54.2375°N 5.8958°W |
| Founded | 6th Century |
| Founder | St Donard |
| Built | 10th Century (Round Tower) 13th Century (Church) |
| Governing body | Department for Communities |
| Official name | Maghera Church and Round Tower |
| Type | Monument in State Care |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Local Authority | Newry, Mourne and Down |
| Maghera Parish Church | |
|---|---|
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Denomination | Church of Ireland |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Parish Church |
| Heritage designation | Listed Building (B2) |
| Designated | 1977 |
| Architect(s) | John Bowden Welland & Gillespie |
| Completed | 1825 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Down and Dromore |
| Parish | Kilmegan (Dundrum) & Maghera |
Maghera Churches and Round Tower is an ecclesiastical site in Maghera, County Down. It consists of the ruins of a 13th Century church (Maghera Old Church), Maghera Parish Church (built in 1825) and the stump of a 10th Century round tower. It is also the site of a monastery founded by St. Donard in the 6th century, and its graveyard confirms evidence that it was an early ecclesiastical site. Together the old church, round tower, and graveyard are a scheduled monument and monument in state care, referred to as "Maghera Church and Round Tower". The church built in 1825 is a functional Church of Ireland church and a listed building.
The site is built on a rath, which gave rise to Maghera's original name ‘Rathmurbhuilg’, which means ‘the rath at the sea wall’. Over the centuries the site was recorded variously as Portmurbhuilg, Rath, and Rathra, before settling on Maghera in the early 17th century.