St Ignatius

In the 1950s,Carryduff began to be developed as a satellite commuter town for Belfast, with a rapid increase in population. The Church of Ireland determined there was a need for a place of worship in the village and by 1952 regular services were being held in a local barn. In 1954 a dual purpose hall with spire was built to designs by Dennis O’D Hanna.

In 1964 the foundation stone was laid for a new church to the designs of Donald A Shanks who is generally recognised as an exponent of modern church architecture across Northern Ireland. The design joined an extended parochial hall to a new polygonal nave by means of a small chapel. The contractors were Sloan Brothers Ltd of Belfast.

Loosely hexagonal on plan facing southwest with flat roofed glazed entrance lobby and spire to the west. An unusual layout and design with a creative use of light; irregularly shaped window openings in concrete frames with steel framed leaded coloured glazing and other well designed internal features. The unusual and innovative roof structure (geometric concrete tiled roof with six gables emanating from a central nodal point) makes this a fine example of architecture.

The church seats 200 people and a further 50 by opening out the folding doors across the entrance to the nave. The church bell is around 280 years old and originally hung in the tower of Faughart Church, County Louth. In 1990 the church was extended again, by means of additions to the north and east façades of the parochial hall. The improvements included provision of a vestry and choir room, new toilet facilities, a lobby, a minor hall with a small kitchen and two upstairs rooms. Ernest Knox architects designed the new hall complex.