Sexton’s House

One of the excellent projects undertaken by the Heritage Company has been the renovation of the Sexton’s House. For a number of generations, the office of Sexton to the Church of Ireland church was held by members of the Galbraith Family who served the church and its congregation admirably over the years.

Among the many duties to be performed was one which all of the residents of Abbeyleix  appreciated and which remains in their  memory for many years, was the ringing of the church bell to welcome in  the New Year at midnight. Many an emigrant on hearing a church bell, where ever they might be, would be swept back home on a wave of nostalgic feeling.  On the retirement of the last sexton, the house became somewhat derelict but as it forms a significant part of the town’s heritage its restoration was widely welcomed and it is now a notable stop on the Heritage Trails  around the town