Church of St Peter, Broadford

St. Peter’s Church is situated on an elevation overlooking the picturesque village of Broadford.  In the years following Catholic Emancipation most of the churches throughout the diocese were erected. Fr. Peter Curtin, P.P. in 1836 replaced the old thatched church building that had served the Catholic community of Broadford with the present St. Peter’s Church. The exterior of this large cruciform building is plain but the door and window mouldings and the false windows on either side of the main entrance are suggestive of a development in ornamentation that was new in church buildings of the time. An eighteen century carving of St. Peter on the church wall near the entrance probably comes from the earlier chapel. St. Peter’s was renovated on a number of occasions, the most recent one was in 1995 involving the installation of a new ceiling and floor, the dry-lining of the interior, a new sanctuary and a day chapel for weekday masses. The old steps and the bell were also restored. Much of the work was done by FAS workers and sub-contractors at the cost of £160,000 by parishioners and a fund-raising effort by Fr. Tom Seymour, P.P. in the USA. 2009 saw further improvements when the entrance road was widened and the cemetery extension was completed.