Brief history of St. Clare's Church.

Manorhamilton was originally part of the parish of Glenfarne and Cloonclare, with the parish church and the parish priest's residence being in Glenfarne.  Kiltyclogher was also part of this parish but it was transferred to the parish of Ballaghameehan in 1969.  The ruins of a medieval church which contains a sixteenth or early seventeenth-century female effigy are to be found in Cloonclare cemetery.

The old St. Clare's Church was built in 1810 while Fr. Francis Maguire was parish priest from 1780 to 1825.  The site was acquired from Nathaniel Clements, the 2nd Earl of Leitrim, by the O'Donnell family of Larkfield.  Many Church of Ireland Protestant land-owners in the area subscribed towards the cost of erection including the said Lord Leitrim, the Earl of Enniskillen and the Wynne family of Hazelwood.   It was improved and enlarged in 1816.  William Lancey's Ordinance Survey report in 1837 stated that this "chapel is a good slated building with galleries and it can hold 600 persons."  

Nathaniel Clements was a relatively kind landlord.  He died on 3rd December 1854 and was succeeded by his second son, the notorious and heartless William Sydney Clements, 3rd Earl of Leitrim.   On one occasion he closed St. Clare's church before a Sunday mass.  He was followed on horseback by O'Donnell of Larkfield who, at gunpoint, forced him to return and re-open the church in time for the Sunday mass. 

When the present St. Clare's Church was completed in 1885 the Classical School in Manorhamilton occupied the older building until 1912.  This school, which equipped students with a basic knowledge of Latin for entry to the seminary was responsible for producing 52 missionary priests.  The building also functioned after 1885 as a parochial hall and was known as St. Clare's Hall. It was fully utilised for many community functions such as dances, concerts and plays up to 1969 when the Community Centre first opened.  After that, for many years, it was used as a badminton hall and snooker club. It is still standing but now rarely used.

On Saturday 26th January 1884, while St. Clare's Church was being built, a storm caused the roof to collapse, tore down the spire of 170 feet and destroyed some of the beautiful pillars.  Fr. Charles Flynn, a curate in Kiltyclogher, was delegated to go to the United States to raise money to re-roof the church.  The church was built while Dr. John Maguire D.D. was parish priest from 1866 to 1904 and was designed by William Hague Jnr., a native of Cavan town, who was one of the country's leading Gothic revivalist architects at the time.  He was responsible for almost one hundred designs of churches and buildings in Ireland.  The contractors were Clarence from Ballisodare, Co. Sligo from where the limestone also came. The large marble pillars originated in Scotland and were brought from the local rail station on rollers.  When completed, it was said to be the finest limestone faced church in Ireland.  It was dedicated on 18th October 1885.

Around this time also the present Parochial House in Manorhamilton was built and it became the residence of the parish priest.

 There were many improvements carried out in St. Clare's over the years.  Monsignor Patrick Soden, who was PP from 1915 to 1942 was responsible for the beautiful mosaic in the sanctuary.  Monsignor Cooke had the roof area reconstructed in 2007.  Fr. Oliver Kelly has had  many improvements made since his appointment as PP in 2008.  The most expensive work was the upgrade of the heating system in 2011.

The church is dedicated to St. Clare of Assisi who was a follower of St. Francis of Assisi.  She wished to join the Franciscan Order but was not allowed because of her gender.  With the help of St. Francis she established her own order of nuns known as the Poor Clares which is also known as the second order of St. Francis.  She was born in Assisi on 16th July 1194 and died there on 11th August 1253.  Her feast day is 11th August.  In the much admired stained glass window at the gable of the sanctuary is an image of a woman in a brown habit holding the sacred host.  This is considered to be an image of St. Clare.

The stained glass window is known to have been made and erected by the reputable firm of Earley & Company, Camden St. Dublin.  The main composition is of four sacred Christian events :- the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Agony in the garden and the Resurrection.

Strangely, the parish name of Cloonclare is not named after St. Clare but rather derives its name from the Irish Cluain Cláir meaning a level meadow.