The first mention of a Protestant presence in Moviddy goes back to 1591 where a Nicholas O'Flynn is listed as vicar of Moviddy. There are records of a previous structure in 1699, as follows: "Moviddy church in repair. Sermon every Sunday. Sacrament three times a year." The current ruin is a freestanding, double-height Church of Ireland church, built c.1820. Papers relating to the established church in Ireland in 1820 describe a church in Moviddy, and give an overview of the rectory, thus: "There was an old thatched residence in Moviddy unfit for residence. The rector is to build immediately, glebe 80 acres annual salary £75." The Protestant population in Moviddy was 85. The Catholic population 2,758. The church itself is a small, but very neat, edifice in the early English style, for the repairs of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners granted £224 towards repairs in 1837. In 1833 Hume Babington became rector of Moviddy and carried out improvements totalling £242 in his time (€166,766 in today's money). At this time, the church was capable of accommodating 120 people. The sacrament was administered monthly. In 1903, J. H. Cole noted that: "Moviddy church was recently improved by substituting very handsome stone mullioned windows for the old plain wooden frames. The old plaster ceiling was replaced by an ornamental one of pitch-pine. The chancel has been raised, and tiled with handsome mosaic, with red marble steps; and other substantial improvements have been carried out, based on designs by W, H. Hill, Esq., C.E. A very beautiful carved oak pulpit and prayer desk have been dedicated by Mrs. R. R. Warren, of Dublin, in memory of her husband, the late Judge Warren, who was such a generous benefactor to the Church of Ireland." The church has a rectangular nave to which was added a semi-circular apse at the east end and a rectangular porch, which was entered through a door in the north wall, now blocked up. There is a roofless mausoleum to the East of the church containing a classical wall plaque dated 1719. This is the Bailey Vault.
(Provided by Sile Hunt, parishoner and researcher of St. Helen's, June 2018)