A family which paid €170,000 for a Presbyterian Church in Ballyshannon is to convert it into a home, they said today.
The church had been on the market since 2009.
New owner Louise McMahon said she will use it as her family home and will be moving in with her husband and five children.
Before the church was placed on the market, the bodies of two ministers had to be exhumed from the churchyard and moved to new graves.
Speaking to the BBC in the North, the minister, Reverend Stephen Richmond, said it was a very sensitive time.
“The families of the two ministers were contacted and gave their consent,” he said.
“It was the only option as the church was moving out of church ownership.
Ballyshannon Presbyterian Church held its last service in 2007 because of falling numbers.
At the time there were just 10 families in the congregation.
New owner Louise McMahon said she bought the church on an impulse but plans to turn it into a family home eventually.
“It was pure impulse. There was no rational reason behind it. I just saw it on the website and it just drew me in.
“It’s like finding a shell on a beach. There was a creature living inside it once. We only bought a shell but we plan on putting something very nice inside of it,” she said.
The church, which was reroofed and contains an orchard, was sold after considerable interest from all over the world.
There was huge interest from around the world in the property including a woman in Holland who came and sat in the church for hours before deciding against purchasing it.
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