(The Parish of Riverstown incorporating Sooey and Gleann is located just off the N4, 15 minutes outside Sligo town)
The very first Church to be erected in Riverstown was a ‘barn Church’, erected in the mid to late 1700’s, during the period of the penal laws. The next phase in its development came in 1801, when the original Church was substantially enlarged on the same footprint. The most significant change came about in the years 1841-1842, when the orientation of the Church was altered by the construction of a new nave. Finally, the Church underwent a programme of refurbishment in the years 1923 -1924. The Parish Inventory Book records that ‘the first sod’ for the construction of the new Church of the Sacred Heart was cut on 23 rd March 1940. The celebration of the First Mass in the present Church took place on 7 th December 1941 as part of the Dedication ceremony. The new Church has been designed to accommodate 750 persons in nave and gallery. The most substantial work to be carried out on the Church since it was completed in 1941 came about over the course of 2016 and was completed to coincide with the 75 th anniversary of its dedication.
The Church of the Assumption was built in 1837 to replace the old parish Church in the townland of Sooey, which by that time had fallen into considerable disrepair. Over the years, the Church of the Assumption has undergone many changes, but the most important changes were carried out in the 1940’s and again in the 1960’s. The last significant alterations to the Church of the Assumption came in the years 2007 and 2008.
The construction of Saint Columba’s Church Gleann commenced in the spring of 1903. The construction work took over two years to complete and the First Mass in the new Church was celebrated on All Souls’ Day, 2 nd November 1905. The Church consists of a nave and chancel measuring 90 feet by 30 feet, a sacristy to the eastern end and a cut limestone main entrance porch on the southern side. Saint Columba’s Church has remained largely untouched since its original construction, the only alterations since then being the installation of an oil burner central heating system in 1956 (which was replaced in 1976), the installation of the electricity in 1962 and in late years, a new entrance driveway and a new altar and ambo. Due to a declining congregation, Saint Columba’s Church remains closed since 2013.
