I recently visited a church that was built by my husbands family in the 1600's and then rebuilt again in the 1700's. Our guide called it ba/heel/an church. What is the correct spelling for this church.

Can you provide any information on the precise location? Town/townland/parish and county would be a great help

Yes, trying to back-form on syllablic structure alone would likely lead to errors.

Remember in Ireland, parishes break down into dozens of townlands. Furthermore, different places in those townlands can have names too, such as a field where Famine bodies were laid, or an old Cromlech etc

Some more info would help, if you have any