According to the Ireland National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, St. Matthew's Church was built to take the place of the old St. Cartha's Church and was in use until 1964 (see additional information below).
Between 1560 and 1869 the Anglican church was the established Church in Ireland; it was therefore called the Church of Ireland. In 1610 a patent was granted to Alexander Dunbar investing him with ownership of the hallowed edifice in which Catholics had attended Mass for over 1000 years. From 1610 until 1828 the old Church of St. Cartha was used by the Protestant community as their place of worship. What we see standing today is the ruins of the St. Cartha's church, which was last repaired in 1729. As was the custom in many places, the graveyard was shared by both communities until 1830.
This small and handsome church at the bridge-end of Kilcar was erected in 1828. It was built by means of a gift from the Board of First Fruits. Sitting accommodation in the church was for 200. The church consisted of a single rectangular nave with a west tower and four pinnacles. Inside the church there was a chancel a few feet deep, a central passageway and side passages. The windows were the narrow lancet windows, the central one was in the south side gable end above the altar.
After having been abandoned in 1964, the church's roof and the tower's 3rd stage were removed for security reasons and the church fell into disrepair.
The following photographs show St. Matthew's Church as it stands today after a great deal of loving care and hard work on the part of Lulu Chesnutt, the community of Kilcar, other concerned individuals, and the members of the local Heritage Committee. In addition, some of the work was accomplished because of a gift from Andrée Walton Love whose husband, Freeman Donnellon Love, was the great-grandson of Samuel Love, the much revered Kilcar schoolmaster who served for over 60 years, and his wife, Nancy Anne Chestnut Love. Samuel also served as the clerk at St. Matthews.
Trees and rubble were removed from the interior. The windows and the tower door, which had been sealed off for years, were re-opened and iron tracery was installed.
