Colmán of Kilroot

Saint Colman mac Cathbaid is a sixth-century Irish saint who was bishop of Kilroot (Co. Antrim), a minor see which was afterwards incorporated in the Diocese of Connor. He may have given his name to Kilmackevat (Co. Antrim).

He was a contemporary of St. Ailbe, and his feast has been kept on 16 October.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. 

Kilroot

Kilroot (from Irish Cill Ruaidh, meaning "church of the redhead") is a townland, population centre and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies to the east of Eden, on the outskirts of Carrickfergus on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. It is within the Carrickfergus Borough Council area.

History

Archbishop Usher (1624), quoting from the life of Saint Ailbe of Emly, states that a church at Kilroot was founded in 412AD. This would pre-date the mission of Saint Patrick in 432AD.

The Bishop's Palace was lived in by the Brice family in 1696, although the church was known to be in ruins when Jonathan Swift was appointed Prebend in 1695. By 1840 the Bishops Palace was seemingly a shell and the church a total ruin.

Places of interest

The Round House, known locally as Dean Swift's house, is likely to date from the eighteenth century fashion of Romantic cottages. Its diminutive appearance was deceiving as the ground floor contained a parlour 24 feet (7.3 m) by 16 feet (4.9 m). It was a white limewashed thatched cottage unique in its construction without corners. The four straight sections of wall did not join at right angles but were joined by curved sections to form one continuous exterior wall. Swift was reputed by local lore to have said that the devil would never catch him in a corner. The building was demolished in 1959 after a fire, and the site as well as the adjacent Kilroot railway station has disappeared under the new power station.