Living Faith, Living History

COME & C the parishes of the United Dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough through the eyes of primary school children OLUX

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EDITED BY ANNE LODGE & MICHAEL JACKSON

Chloe Moore 5 class Balbriggan th

Joanne Doherty 5th and 6th class Holmpatrick Skerries

Emily Jones 6 class Springdale th

Sara Whitley 4 class Kill O’the Grange th

Cliodhna Spellman 5th class Balbriggan

Karl Lawless Drumcondra 4th 5th 6th

Liz Deane 3 and 4th class Athy rd

David McAndrew 5th class Irishtown

Rachel Kidd 6 class Springdale th

Katie Nolan 5 class Kilternan th

RIcky McMahon 5 class Whitechurch th

Emma Furney 4 and 5th class Castleknock th

Neal Megarity 4 class Whitechurch th

Living Faith, Living History

COME & C the parishes of the United Dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough through the eyes of primary school children

EDITED BY ANNE LODGE & MICHAEL JACKSON

Table of contents PART I Exhibition book: The ‘Living Faith Living History’ Project

PART II ATHY: UNION OF PARISHES

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FONSTOWN: ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST’S CHURCH

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ST. GEORGE’S BALBRIGGAN

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ST. BRIGID’S CHURCH CASTLEKNOCK

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DRUMCONDRA NS

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ST MATTHEW’S IRISHTOWN

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KILL O’ THE GRANGE

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KILTERNAN 64 ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH RAHENY

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SKERRIES 80 WHITECHURCH PARISH AND NATIONAL SCHOOL

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 96

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Foreword The Living Faith Living History project has resulted in an outstanding publication coming from the Exhibition in Christ Church Cathedral

but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ Matthew 19.14:

The most exciting component is that children themselves have been the primary researchers

I am very happy to have been associated with the Living Faith Living History project which found an expression of huge significance in the mounting of the exhibition in the cathedral. Anyone who has experienced the exhibition will have witnessed the sheer joy of faith and exploration engaged by children of all ages in putting together their individual approach to their local church and its history. Through the imagination and innocence of those who engaged with the project we see the eternal truths of our faith portrayed in a simple and inviting format accessible to all.

They have gone into the history of the church buildings and also interviewed many of the people to whom these buildings and their life matters. This has resulted in a publication of significant authenticity and attractiveness as it is given expression through the voice of the child Through the book, a much wider audience will be connected with a range of churches and parishes across the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough as never before I commend most warmly everyone who has been associated with this publication and am delighted that the diocese of which I am the archbishop has been able to facilitate it in as many ways as possible. The fact that this publication has risen from the time of the coronavirus pandemic and successive Lockdowns is all the more admirable and noteworthy

It is a real bonus that the exhibition has culminated in the production of a book that is equally engaging and forms a lasting testimony of all that was achieved by children in a time of pandemic and lockdown. Such resilience and energy is an example to all of us on how to continue to be positive in an environment often beset with misfortune and negative news. May I commend all those involved with the production of this book which will form a firm place in the annals both of the cathedral and the diocese.

I offer my hearty congratulations to everyone concerned Most Rev. Dr. Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough

All good wishes Dermot Dunne Dean Christ Church Cathedral Dublin

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Exhibition book The ‘Living Faith Living History’ Project Anne Lodge and Michael Jackson In Autumn 2020, we were fortunate to get grant funding from All Churches Trust, the Church Education Society and the Advisory Council of the Church of Ireland Centre, DCU. This enabled us to invite primary schools under Church of Ireland patronage across the United Dioceses located in historic parishes to take part in our project Living Faith Living History.

Children in senior classes along with their teachers explored the history of their specific historic parish and its buildings and found out about its current life. All ten schools that responded to the invitation to take part in this project have links with historic places of worship as well as having a vibrant current parish community. They visited their parish church or churches, they investigated the graveyards, they researched families and events associated with the parish in the past, they interviewed parishioners and people working in the parish in the present. They drew pictures of the interior and exterior of the church and its surrounds. When their project was completed, many of the schools did a local exhibition before donating their materials to us for a three-week exhibition in the cathedral in October / November 2021. The remaining chapters of this book contain material created by the children in each of the ten participating schools.

Community links in parish schools

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There are 46 primary schools under Church of Ireland patronage across the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough. Many of these primary schools are part of parishes with a long history of Christian worship. In most parishes, there is a strong link between primary school and parish. Clergy regularly visit the school, as often do youth workers where they are employed by the parish. Many schools use their local parish church for special assemblies or to mark important events in the school such as the graduation of 6th class or the annual Carol Service. Some schools share a multi-purpose hall with the church and

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North Aisle of Christ Church Cathedral with the Living Faith Living History exhibition

parish. Some schools also make use of the church grounds for outdoor learning while some parishes rely on the use of the school grounds or the shared space to hold parish events such as summer or autumn fairs. Many of our parish primary schools, which are generally small or medium in size, can be described as community active schools. They tend to have strong links with their parishes (often as well as having strong links with other institutions and groups locally). This pattern holds across urban and rural locations. Schools with strong community links to their parishes share spaces and activities. They can also build intergenerational relationships. Furthermore, they can act as a repository of cultural and historic information about the parish and its community.

Covid and its impact on the life of schools

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Covid-19 continues to have a significant impact on primary schools in Ireland. Children and their teachers experienced a sudden lockdown in mid-March 2020 and again in January 2021 each lasting several months. Everyone had to learn how to engage with education virtually. It was a significant strain for children, for parents and guardians, for teachers, principals and SNAs. Even when children returned to their school buildings, much of the flexibility we had been so used to was no longer possible. School tours were a thing of the past. Use of church buildings became challenging if not impossible. Visits to the school by non-school personnel were either forbidden or very curtailed. The links that schools had nurtured with their wider community became much more difficult to maintain and to utilise. Despite the challenging circumstances for all in schools during the course of the pandemic, ten of the primary

schools in the United Dioceses decided to undertake the Living Faith Living History project about their parish history and contemporary life. The project enabled children and teachers to connect anew with members of their parish community. It gave an opportunity for a visit to the church or the church grounds. The local exhibition, where it was possible, was a great opportunity to engage members of the parish with the school. For some of the schools, the outing to see the exhibition in the diocesan cathedral was their first school outing in over 18 months.

Teachers and principals talk about the project

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David McAndrew, the teacher of 5th class in St. Matthew’s NS Irishtown said:

‘We had a fantastic and fascinating trip where we learnt about grave robbers, the crypt and the important role that our church played in local history. As a teacher, it was great to see my class learning about local history and making connections to our local church.’ ✦ Karl Lawless, the teacher of 4th, 5th and 6th classes, and acting principal, in Drumcondra NS said: ‘We absolutely loved the ‘Living History Living Faith’ projects that we completed during the last academic school year. It was so nice to come back after the school closures and seemingly endless lockdowns, and really reconnect with our local church, graveyard and our wonderful local parishioners. Our school has a link of long-standing to our local church and completing these projects was a great way of bringing this link to the attention of not only our students but to our whole school community. The children loved the exhibit and our visit to this beautiful historical cathedral. It was an honour for them to see their hard work displayed in such a wonderfully humbling, interesting

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and holy setting. We even managed to link our visit to Christchurch in with our studies of the Normans and one of their most famous leaders, Strongbow.’  ✦ Sara Whitley, the teacher of 4th class in Kill O’ The Grange NS said: ‘The children worked in groups to find information online and in books which they typed up and presented on posters. They also used their artistic and creative skills to draw and colour pictures and to design their final posters. Each group researched different areas such as the history of KOTG church, inside the church, church missions, Kill O’ The Grange National school, previous rectors in Kill parish and KOTG church community. Doing interviews with parishioners was a very enjoyable and interesting aspect of the project, and it allowed the children to connect with members of the church and parish. The children then had the opportunity to present their project to other classes in the school and it was also placed in the church for a number of days for members of KOTG parish to view and enjoy. The project was both challenging and enjoyable for the children. They really enjoyed working together with their classmates and they were very proud of the finished piece.’ ✦ Katie Nolan, the teacher of 5th class in Kilternan NS said: ‘In September, the children in 5th Class were invited to complete a project on our Church and Parish. The children came together and thought of many different ideas to research based on the church and its parish, for example, the church building itself, interviewing parishioners and researching the graveyard. We got to work straight away and the children were very enthusiastic about learning more about Kilternan and its interesting history. We used our Chromebooks to research and found many websites

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with lots of information. We also walked over to the Church and graveyard many times and looked at the graves and headstones outside the church and the stained glass windows and lectern inside the Church. The children completed wonderful drawings of the Church building and the inside of the Church which were placed beside information about the building. There were many times where the children found things out that they didn’t know before. We all felt very proud of ourselves when we saw our work displayed in Christ Church Cathedral especially when we saw other people admiring our work too.’  ✦ Liz Deane, the teacher of 3rd and 4th class in Athy Model NS said: ‘When the invitation to take part in this wonderful project came to us last year, I was immediately interested in it. Having attended Athy Model School as a child, and having grown up in the parish, I have always been very aware of the strong links between our school and parish. Both have been intertwined for generations and it is a tradition that we continue in the present day. the children were thrilled to work in groups to research information on each of the four churches in our parish, namely Athy, Kilberry, Fontstown and Kilkea. Each group worked on a particular church finding out the history of that church as well as interviewing family members who worship there. The children researched activities that take place in our busy parish and discovered that there is something for everybody from the very young to the not so very young! The children typed the information and presented it on posters along with photographs of the interior and exterior of the 4 churches. They also put their artistic skills to use and drew pictures of the churches and created collages of the churches which we displayed in the school corridor for all to see. The children thoroughly enjoyed working

Christ Church Cathedral

together on this project and were very proud to see their project on display in Christ Church Cathedral.’  ✦ Emma Furney, teacher of 4th and 5th classes in Castleknock NS said: ‘This project provided our pupils with a wonderful platform to explore their school and church, both now and in the past. This was particularly special for us as our school celebrated its 300 year anniversary in 2020.  The pupils engaged in a variety of activities to gather information for our project. Reverend Canon Houston very kindly gave us a tour of Saint Brigid’s church and provided us with an insight into its history. We were fascinated to learn about the famous Harry Clarke window inside the church also. We were extremely fortunate to engage in several virtual interviews with a number of people in our parish. The pupils really enjoyed taking part in the interviews and this

really brought our project to life. It was wonderful to see the strong relationships between our interviewees and our church and school. We are extremely proud of our pupils for the dedication, commitment and enthusiasm shown from start to finish!’  ✦ Sandra Moloney, the principal of Castleknock NS said: ‘Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, which brought our school to a standstill for the first time in our 300 year history, we were invited, to take part in the ‘Living Faith, Living History’ project. Ms Furney kindly offered to get involved and she and her mixed class of 4th and 5th Class pupils set to work. As a very old school ideally situated in the centre of Castleknock village, almost opposite St Brigid’s Church we were well placed to take part. We have a close relationship with the church. Those who took

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part in the interviews via Zoom were so delighted to take part as they all have strong connections with CNS. We are so proud of our beautiful church and the important part it plays in the life of so many of our pupils. I am also very proud of the pupils, and the teacher who took part in this project and produced the work which we visited on display in Christ Church Cathedral. It is a credit to them all and so lovely to see the link between church and school acknowledged and celebrated.’

Come&C – the discipleship project in the United Dioceses

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In 2014, the Come&C Report was launched. This report presents the analysis of parish responses to a survey initiated by the archbishop in Spring 2014. Most parishes across the United Dioceses returned completed surveys. Among other things, the responses described the work individual parishes were doing to welcome the wider community to their church and its associated activities. This report gave rise to the Come&C Project which was designed to equip people for discipleship and deepen their understanding of their own faith. Come&C was centred around the Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion:  TELL – To proclaim God’s Kingdom TEACH – To teach, baptise and nurture TEND – To respond to human need TRANSFORM – To transform unjust structures TREASURE – To safeguard creation.

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The initiative had several strands from 2015 until 2018. First, there was a series of Songs of Praise style events held in locations around Dublin and Glendalough. Each service focused on one of the Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion and also reflected the host location and its particular culture and interests. Second, the Camino of Glendalough was launched as a pilgrim walk. This follows the ancient St Kevin’s Way from St Kevin’s Church in Hollywood to Glendalough. People could do the walk in full or in part. A booklet was produced with points of reflection to consider while walking a selection of routes in and around Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains. Third, the Come&C 5 Marks Challenge Discipleship Programme was established and adults across the diocese took part. The Come&C initiative gave opportunities for adults and older young people across the United Dioceses to engage with, and develop their discipleship. However, none of its activities focused on children. The Living Faith, Living History project was inspired by the survey of parishes that kick-started the Come&C project. Instead of asking adults to invite others to come and see what was happening in their faith community, this project invited children in Church of Ireland primary schools to find out about the parishes connected to their schools, and to share what they found both with their own locality and with the wider community. In this way, the children themselves were given agency in enabling others to ‘come and see’ the church or churches associated with their school. This publication of their project materials provides an opportunity to share their findings and their invitation beyond their own schools, their own parishes, their own united dioceses, with a wider readership.

An invitation to explore communities of faith linked to parish schools

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We know that the intake of Church of Ireland primary schools is very diverse – while many of the children belong to Church of Ireland families, many others belong to other Christian denominations, other faiths or are not affiliated to any religion. Therefore, it is very important that the link to the parish is an invitational one, which stresses that all are welcome but none are compelled to be part of Anglicanism. This is a delicate balance and is certainly not unique to Irish Anglican schools as it is also well-documented in Church of England schools. The Living Faith Living History project was intended to offer an opportunity for that invitational engagement with the local parish community of faith. It also came about at a time when the usual pre-Covid links with the wider community that people took for granted had been severely tested. In some schools assembly is only happening outdoors, or on zoom. Visits to the church, or use of the church for events have become more curtailed and much more complicated. Those from outside the school can no longer visit easily for shared activities. The Living Faith Living History project happened by serendipity at a time when the Covid-19 restrictions had eased and enabled invitational links to be created anew.

A very brief history of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough

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Before we explore parishes of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough through the eyes and expertise of primary school children for the remainder of this book,

it is a good idea to get some brief insight into the history of the United Dioceses themselves and the many very old churches and places of worship all around the United Dioceses. The Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough have been united since 1216. The United Dioceses today consist of 78 parishes with 105 active churches, including two medieval cathedrals that are located within a short distance of each other in the city of Dublin. Many of the churches across the United Dioceses have lengthy histories as places or sites of Christian worship. In some cases, the current church, built in the 18th or 19th  century, is on a new site, a short distance from the ruins of the earlier place of worship for that parish. Often, the original graveyard of the parish remains visible and sometimes still in use surrounding the earlier church. For example, St. John the Baptist in Clontarf was built in the 1866 on Vernon Avenue to replace an earlier church built in 1609 on Castle Avenue beside Clontarf Castle. The old building replaced an even earlier church on the same site. The 1609 church is now an unroofed ruin in the old graveyard on Castle Avenue. Similarly, in Rathfarnham village, the late medieval church ruin is in the ancient graveyard a short distance away from the current church, built in the 1780s.

Stone cross, St. John the Evangelist, Coolock

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Some of our church grounds include ancient artefacts including round towers, high crosses, ancient gravestones and remains of much older places of worship. l St. James’s Church in Castledermot, Co. Kildare is built on the site of an original church dating from around 800AD, which was attacked by the Vikings in 841. There is an ancient round tower, dating from the 11th century, attached to the early 19th century church of St. James. It has been used as a reconstructed bell tower since at least the start of the 18th century. The church grounds in Castledermot are rich in ecclesiastical archaeology including a Romanesque doorway dating to 1150, two high crosses dating from the 10th century, a holed stone with a carved cross and a sarcophagus or hogback grave dating to the 10th or 11th century.

High Cross, St. James’ Castledermot

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l St. Columba’s Church in Swords, Co. Dublin is believed to be the fourth church on that site. It was built around 1800AD. There was a monastery founded on the site around 550AD which was founded by St. Columba. Given the age of the site, it is rich in ancient ecclesiastical buildings including the oldest round tower in Ireland and a square belltower dating from 1400AD. l The current St. John’s Church in Ballymore Eustace, Co. Kildare dates from the early 19th century but in the church grounds there are two high crosses, probably from the 10th or 11th centuries. There are also 12th and 13th century gravestones in the church grounds. l St. Maelruain’s Church in Tallaght is built on the site of an 8th century monastery founded by St. Maelruain. The current church was built in 1829 replacing a medieval church whose four-storey tower remains standing beside

Northern High Cross, St. John’s Ballymore Eustace

Knight Effigy in St. John’s Ballymore Eustace

St. James’ Castledermot with Round Tower

Bread shelf St. Ann’s Dawson Street, Dublin

the newer building. The graveyard contains gravestones from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. There is a shallow stone font and a small stone cross inside the church yard. The remains of a fosse (the ancient curved bank) that surrounded the 8th century monastery can also be seen in the church yard. Our church buildings include beautiful stained glass, monu­ments, effigies and other notable fixtures and fittings. l There are high quality stained glass windows in churches all around the United Diocese. Some examples worth seeing include ‘The Arrest of Jesus’ in St. John’s Church, Ballymore Eustace, Co. Kildare; the East Window ‘Ascension’ in Zion church in Rathgar, all the windows in St. Bartholomew’s church, Clyde Road and all the windows in St. Nahi’s Church in Dundrum. l The interior of St. Ann’s in Dawson Street retains its original Georgian splendour. On display to the left of the sanctuary is ‘The Bread Shelf ’. Since 1723, when a bequest was made by Lord Newton of Newton Butler, bread has been made available for the poor every day. l St. Audeon’s church in the heart of the medieval city has been in use for worship since 1190AD and is probably on the site of a 7th century church dedicated to St. Colmcille. By 1825 the current church was in very

poor repair and too large for the needs of the parish so it was partly restored with part left unroofed. In the church porch of St.  Audeon’s is an early Christian gravestone known as ‘The Lucky Stone’. It has been in the church since 1390AD and merchants and traders in Dublin used to rub it for luck. l The interior of St. John’s Church in Ballymore Eustace has effigy of a 16th century FitzEustace knight. l Some of our churches are associated with historic figures or events. l In 1014, the monastery church in Swords waked the body of King Brian Boru as the cortege made its way north to Armagh after the Battle of Clontarf. l St. Werburgh’s Church in Dublin city centre is the burial place of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, a participant in the 1798 rebellion. l Robert Emmet, who organised a failed rebellion in 1803, was executed outside St. Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street. l There is a very old door with a hole cut in it on display in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The story about that door tells us the origins of the saying ‘chance your arm’. Two prominent Irish families, the Butlers and the Fitzgeralds were feuding. The fighting got so badly out of hand that the Butlers took

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Mummified cat and rat in Christ Church Cathedral crypt

shelter in the Chapter Room in the cathedral. In order to bring an end to the fighting, Gerald Fitzgerald ordered that a hole be cut in the door to the Chapter Room and he put his arm through the hole offering his hand as a sign of peace. The Butlers decided that the Fitzgeralds were serious about offering peace if one of them was prepared to lose an arm to reconcile the two feuding families. Christ Church Cathedral

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In 1030, there was a Viking church on the site of Christ Church Cathedral. It was founded by Dúnán, the first bishop of Dublin, and Sitric, the Norse king of Dublin. It was rebuilt in stone in the late 12th century by the Norman Strongbow. Archbishop Laurence O’Toole introduced the Canons Regular of St. Augustine and the Cathedral Priory remained in the Cathedral until the Reformation. John Cumin, the first Anglo-Norman archbishop of Dublin took a key role in replacing the earlier HibernoNorse cathedral with a Romanesque and Anglo-Norman building, parts of which survive today. For example, much of the existing nave was built in the 1230s. There were additions to the building in the 14th century. The nave roof vaulting collapsed in 1562, smashing the original tomb of Strongbow. There was an emergency rebuild of the

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Christ Church Cathedral crypt

cathedral, much of which remained in place until the 1870s when there was major restoration. The cathedral we know is heavily Victorianised as a result. However, conservation of such an ancient building is an ongoing task. Restoration of the 12th century crypt took place in 2000 for example. The crypt houses the cathedral’s collection of historical artefacts, silver, manuscripts and a mummified cat and rat. The Reformation brought significant changes to Christ Church Cathedral. The Canons Regular of St. Augustine and the Prior were replaced by a Dean and Chapter in 1539. In 1551, divine service was sung for the first time in English rather than in Latin and in 1560, the Bible was read in English at services in the cathedral. Today, the cathedral has daily services which are held in person and also live-streamed. The cathedral choir traces its origins to 1493 with the establishment of a choir school. The choir participated in the first performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1742 in Dublin. The oldest of the cathedral’s current bells dates to 1738, but the first mention of bells in the cathedral goes back to 1423. The bells are rung by the Christ Church Cathedral Society of Change Ringers, founded in 1670. The cathedral welcomes visitors from all across the world.

St. Doulagh’s

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St Doulagh’s Church is located on the main Dublin to Malahide in the Townland of St Doolagh’s between the village of Balgriffin and Kinsealy approximately 12 km north of Dublin and 4.5 km south of Malahide. Research indicates that the existing church buildings probably occupy the site of an Early Christian monastic settlement commemorative of St Doulagh or Dulic who is said to have been an anchorite that lived here circa 600AD. The earliest extant structure is the stone roofed oratory which is mid12th century. The fortified Tower House above the oratory is of Anglo-Norman design and estimated to have been added in the 14th century to provide safe accommodation for the occupying clergy. Adjoining the western side of the tower at ground level there is a small anchorite’s cell once occupied by the priest Eustace Roche. The church is shown as in ruin on the 1656/8 Down Survey maps. A Georgian aisle was built in 1775 adjoining the then ruined ancient church and tower. The 1775 Aisle was removed and replaced with the present church in 1864 and this continues to be used by the local Church of Ireland community. Situated almost 50 meters north-east of the church this octagonal structure is located over what was once a natural spring water well. Its architecture is similar in style to those of Florence or Pisa but in miniature and built of local limestone. The interior of the roof was once decorated in frescoes depicting sacred images which unfortunately were removed by Williamite followers returning home after the Battle of the Boyne. The surrounding walls were carefully conserved during 1989/90 works to that depicted in Beranger’s painting of 1772. St Doulagh’s recently won the John Betjeman Award (Ireland category) for the sensitive conservation and restoration of its external stonework.

St. Doulagh’s Church, Malahide Road, Dublin

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St. John the Evangelist, Coolock

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St John the Evangelist church in Coolock was built in 1760. A tower was added in 1790 and transepts in 1818. This church is on the site of an early Christian chapel which was dedicated to St Brendan of Clonfert, as was the nearby holy well. Two artefacts from this original site are kept in the church – a granite cross which has been dated as 9th century, and a large 6th – 9th century granite horizontal mill­ stone. During excavations, a bronze penannular brooch, a brooch pin, a small lead ingot and a piece of worked antler were discovered, all dating from 6th – 9th century. Near where an earlier gateway had existed, there was evidence for a boundary ditch with inner bank and burial, evidence of a probable pre-Christian origin for the site. More recent excavations outside the churchyard located an outer surrounding ditch of an early age.

the Vicar until Disestablishment of the church in 1870. At this stage, paying for the clergy became the responsibility of the parish. The earliest dated gravestone in the churchyard is from 1688, while a communion chalice is dated 1680. The churchyard has examples of various types of gravestones and underground tombs. Inside the church, there are a number of memorial plaques including one to Arthur Guinness II, who was a churchwarden, as was his father. There are examples of stained glass windows by Burne-Jones & Morris, A. E. Child, An Tur Gloine and Mayer of Munich. St. Michan’s

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St. Michan’s church was originally built in 1095. It was completely restored in 1685. The church organ dates from 1743, though its keyboard had to be replaced. In 1743, G.F. Handel gave a Stained glass window, recital on this organ the year before the St. John the Evangelist, first performance of Messiah across the In the early Christian Church, Coolock Coolock Liffey in Fishamble Street. During the chapel was attached to the monastery of th 18 century, St. Michan’s was one of the most fashionable Swords. With the arrival of the Normans, the church was gifted to the Cistercians of Lanthony in Gloucester. They churches in Dublin. As a result, many well-known people governed it through the Prior of Duleek in Co. Meath who were either baptised in the church or buried in its graveyard appointed the Vicar for Coolock. At the Dissolution of the or crypt. Edmund Burke was baptised in the font that is Monasteries, the right to the tithe income from the parish still in use today. Charles Stuart Parnell’s funeral was held was given to laymen. From 1605, it fell into the hands of the in St. Michan’s. Moore family, Earls of Drogheda, who continued to appoint

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can be viewed there today. Oliver Bond and Wolfe Tone who were important figures in the 1798 rebellion, are both buried in St.  Michan’s. Wolfe Tone’s death mask can be seen in the crypt today. Bram Stoker’s family had a crypt in St.  Michan’s in the 19th  century. It has been suggested that the mummified bodies in the crypt may have been an inspiration for his famous gothic horror novel, Dracula.

Crypt St. Michans with Rev Ross Styles and archbishop Jackson

Dr. Gamble, one of the clergy in St. Michan’s. attended Robert Emmet at his execution on Thomas Street. Robert Emmet was buried in the church grounds but his body was later secretly exhumed and moved. The Sheares brothers John and Henry, who took part in the 1798 rebellion were buried in the vault. Their death warrant

The crypts under St. Michan’s church dates from the 11th  century. They appear to have been forgotten during later medieval times but were re-discovered during the 1685 restoration. The crypts in St. Michan’s are unusual in that they have a constant temperature throughout the year and are very dry. As a result, the bodies interred there do not decay but are mummified. This means that the skin on these bodies is leathery and the body joints remain pliable. Among the most famous mummified remains in the crypt are those of a Knight Crusader, and a nun and a thief. The crypt is one of reasons that visitors come to St. Michan’s throughout the year.

St. Columba’s Church, Swords, Co. Dublin with Round Tower

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ATHY Union of Parishes There are

4 churches:

• ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH, ATHY • KILBERRY CHURCH • ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST’S CHURCH, FONTSTOWN

St. Michael’s Church is a large church located in the town of Athy whilst Kilberry, Fontstown and Kilkea are all small churches found in the surrounding rural communities. St. Michael’s Church was consecrated on 22nd September 1841. Kilberry Church was consecrated on 9th September 1834. Kilkea Church was built by the Duke of Leinster and licensed for divine service on 28th April 1865. St. John the Evangelist’s Church, Fontstown was consecrated on 24th June 1827.

• KILKEA CHURCH

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f Union o art of n joined , it was p Fontstow n e th to p ations in 1988. U re 3 gener e w Parishes e r e h .T tors in ore Parish , as Rec ts o g a Narraghm B the e family, of the on n. British Fontstow ry in the e m a e r c wned erick farmer-o l, Co. Lim a it p s o H The first ed in ector establish e Bagot (r lf o W Isles was d r a h the Canon Ric ction with n in 1884 by ju n o c wn) in of Fontsto nity. g commu in m r fa l loca

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Parish Activities Athy Union of Parishes is a busy parish with lots of activities for all ages. Here are some of them:

School and Parish Connections

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very Friday, Canon Olive comes to visit and tells us the ways of God and Jesus. When we say our prayers, she says ‘Shake out the sillies!’. She also likes to tell us jokes.

Boys’ Brigade Girls’ Friendly Society Holiday Club Sunday Club Youth Group Toddler Group Friendship Lunch Indoor Bowls Mothers’ Union Whist Drives

We have our Carol Service in St. Michael’s Church, Athy at Christmas and we have an end of year service in St. Michael’s Church, Athy in June. Once every 4 years, it is our turn to host the West Glendalough Children’s Choral Festival in St. Michael’s Church, Athy. This is a service for all the children in Athy Model School, Blessington No. 1 School, Donoughmore School and Dunlavin School. After the service, the children compete in running races, sack races and 3-legged races. There is also a Girls’ and Boys’ Championship running race and the Clergy Cup Relay Race.

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Fonstown

St. John the Evangelist’s Church

Fontstown Church is one of the oldest churches in Kildare. It was built in 1828 and has remained as Fontstown’s only church since then. Fontstown Church is on the old Dublin Road between Athy and Kilcullen. Services are held at 9.30am on the 1st and 3rd Sundays each Month. Holy Com­ munion is celebrated on the 1st Sunday, and Morning Prayer on the 3rd Sunday.

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Interview with my Granny, by Kyle My Granny worshipped in Fontstown Church from when she was christened until she got married. Some of her family are buried in Fontstown graveyard. She went to Sunday School and my Granny’s favourite thing to do in Sunday School was playing games and colouring. My Granny’s favourite thing to do when she was young in church was singing hymns and saying prayers. She sometimes helped out during the service. She has very special memories of the harvest services. There was tea and coffee after special services but not the normal services. The past rectors were Rev. Quinn, Rev. Vanston, Rev. Jackson and Rev. Quigley. In her opinion, the biggest difference between church long ago and now is that there is a more varied age group attending. Something that she thinks that has stayed the same is the service. Her favourite hymn is Amazing Grace and her favourite Bible story is Feeding the 5000.

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St. Michael’s Church in Athy town. . It is the oldest church ad Ro w rlo Ca e th on located ilding of the St. Michael’s Church is Emily Square. The bu in ch ur ch er rli ea an replace v. Frederick It was built in 1840 to ine. The rector was Re m Fa t ea Gr e th re fo ars be llided with church began some ye 60 when his coach co 18 in d die He . e) ar ld an of Ki ey to fund a Trench (son of the De . In his will, he left mon ll) wa wn to al iev ed m of the erected in the Preston Gate (last parts . A marble pulpit was hy At of le op pe or po e d to th yearly donation of brea church in his memory. signed the old architect who also de an y, rle Da ick er ed Fr ned by church steeple The church was desig ch began in 1833. The ur ch e th r fo ng isi ra nd March 1857. . Fund Model School in Athy for the first time on 22 ng ru s wa ll be e th d er an und on the east was added 16 years lat ere traditionally it is fo wh ch ur ch e th of e sid west The chancel is on the ilder, George Cross. was built by a local bu ch ur ch e Th . ch ur ch side of the The four Hannons e dead of World War 1. th of y or em m in s ue aq oroney who was a The church has war pl George Weldon of Kilm ain pt Ca d. re be em m re killed in that war are embered. e Boer War is also rem first officer killed in th

Interview

with my Dad, by Neal

My Dad has worshipped in St. Michael’s Church, Athy, all his life. He thinks that the biggest change in church from when he was a child and now, is that there were more people in church back then. He thinks that the service has stayed the same. There was a Sunday School when he was young and his favourite thing to do was sing. The past rectors were Rev. Pasley, Canon Crampton, Rev. Murenzi and Rev. Cliff Jeffers. The current rector is Canon Olive Donohoe. My Dad was christened in this church but he wasn’t married in this church. A lot of his family members are buried in the graveyard. There was no tea, coffee and biscuits after church when he was young except after special services. My Dad’s favourite thing to do in church is singing hymns. His favourite hymn in church is ‘Will your anchor hold’. His favourite Bible story is the birth of Jesus. My Dad is very involved in the Parish. He was a church warden and now he is on the Select Vestry.

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Kilkea Church

Interview Kilkea Church is on the road between Athy and Castledermot. The Kilkea Church was built in 1850. The first Kilkea Church was built by Hugh de Lacy. Sunday services are held on the 2nd and the 4th Sunday of each month.

with my grandparents, by Harry My grandparents worship in Kilkea Church. My grandad started to worship in Kilkea at the age of 3 while my granny started to worship there when she was 21. Both feel that the language is different now but feel that family in the church is the same and the community has also stayed the same. The past Rectors were Rev. Canon Packham, Rev. Pasley and Rev. Crampton. My grandad was christened in the church and members of his family are buried in the graveyard beside the church. Both have special memories of family weddings Both enjoy singing and my grandad’s favourite hymn is ‘We plough the fields and scatter’ and my granny’s favourite hymn is ‘Silent Night’. My grandad’s favourite Bible story when he was a child was the Good Samaritan and my granny liked stories from the book of Genesis.

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Kilberry Church is in Kilberry village north of Athy. Kilberry Church was built in 1833. It is a gothic revival style church. The church is in a graveyard. There is a masoleum in the graveyard which was built for the family who lived in Bert House. Sunday services are on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month.

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ST. GEORGE’S BALBRIGGAN

History of St. George’s Church

St. George’s Church celebrated 200 years in the heart of Balbriggan in the last few years. By the early 19th century, the parish church in Balrothery was in a dilapidated state. The foundation was laid for St. George’s Church in Balbriggan on 23rd July 1813. The construction was completed in 1816 and it cost £3,018.22. In 1833 the church was burned down and rebuilt in the same decade. The architects of St. George’s Church William Welland and William Gillespie added the gallery and staircase to the church when it was rebuilt.

There are a nu mber of memor ials in the church. Here are four of them: > Charles Alex ander memorial. He was the 3rd son of Charle s Alexander. He was killed while flying, May th 30 1918 aged 18 years. > William Bryan memorial. He w as a soldier in the loyal regim ent. He was kille d in action in Italy on 11th Ap ril 1944. > Richard Thom as Dennis memor ial. He was wounded and ta ken prisoner at M ontigny on 28th May 1918 an d died at Wimer eux on 19th December 1918 on his return from Bastat. > Ernest Denni s Ellis memoria l. He was killed on 27th Se ptember 1918 w hilst leading his company acro ss the Canal du N ord, France and interred in th e British cemeter y.

St. George’s Chur ch is a wonderful place with amazing history. One of our pupils drew this amazing picture of St George’s Ch urch.

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Architecture of St. George’s Church

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St. George’s Church is an early Gothic revival building. It is detached. It is one of the many churches in Ireland. It has a T shaped roof. There is a tower with a sandstone octagonal broch spire. There is a double pitched slate nave roof with clay ridge tiles and a hipped stole. There are also two subsidiary lean-to-slate and limestone roofs and a felt covered flat roof. The church is built of limestone. There is a limestone plinth with coursed rubble limestone walls and dressed limestone quoins rendered, ruled and lined to east elevation and north transept with carved animal heads. The church has pointed arch windows with limestone hood moulding, canted reveals and cills surrounding Gothic cusped limestone tracery with leaded and stained glass. There is a pointed arch door with opening limestone hood moulding voussiors and a studded tongue and grooved timber door leaf. The church interior has an exposed timber king post roof structure, comprising perpendicular tracery panels. There are cast iron clustered columnettes which support a timber framed gallery. There is flagstone flooring except in front of the altar where there are Gothic-detailed tiles.

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Prayers for the Community •

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Lord our Father, please save the homeless and end racism. Amen

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Dear Father, thank you for the food. Thank you for the clean water. Thank you for our community. Amen

Holy and loving God, help us open our eyes to see you and open our minds to believe in you. Amen Dear Father, keep our families healthy. Thank you for our food, water and shelter. Keep the ones without homes safe. Amen

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Dear God, please protect our community. Forgive us our sins. We are grateful for all we have and thank you for keeping us well fed. Amen

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Dear Father, thank you for life. Bless the people that are sick, poor and have no food and water. Bless our community. Amen

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• •

Thank you God for protecting us. Thank you God for giving us life. Dear Father you helped us when we were sad. Thank you God for creating us. Thank you God for helping us. Amen

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Dear God, thank you for helping us survive Covid-19. Thank you for keeping us safe. Thank you for letting us live and learn. Thank you for our friends. Thank you for creating Earth and food and water. Thank you for the animals. Amen

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Dear God, thank yo

u God for giving us a roof over our he ads. Thank you for the meals we have toda y. Thank you for guid ing us on the corr ect path. Thank you for the vaccines you gave us this year. Thank you for all th e clothes we have today. Thank you for the light you gave us to move on in life. Amen

Prayers for the Community

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Dear God, thank yo u for everything, for you I will now do something, I will si ng a song of thankfulness. Th ank you for the m iracles you have created, to wh om I am related, m y family and I, thank you for keep ing us safe. Amen

house, od for my car, my G u yo k an th , od Dear G ve. for the food we ha d an s nd ie fr y m , my family Amen , my school blessing my family r fo u yo k an th , Dear God le that forgiving the peop r fo u yo k an Th . d and everyone iding the nurses an gu r fo u yo k an Th have sinned. e. Thank you making the vaccin r fo d an s or ct do the my God. ank you for being Th il. ev om fr e m g for guidin Amen lovely day. Thank you for the can sit and pray. Thank you that we family. Thank you for my food I eat. Thank you for the friends I meet. Thank you for my ything. Thank you for ever Amen

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ST. BRIGID’S CHURCH Castleknock

TOUR OF RCH, ST. BRIGID’S CHU ER AND OW CASTLEKNOCK, T PORCH

ll was cast in er. The small be w to e th in lls g of six in There are two be as part of a rin w e on er rg la e er in 1747. hile th cast in Gloucest Dublin in 1855 w ty Ci lin ub age D Church in it provided a vant as , 36 18 St. Werburgh’s in ed ov rity wer was rem ght to be a secu ou th as w St. Werburgh’s to d an g Dublin Castle in 1855. point overlookin e to St. Brigid’s m ca ll the spire be e Th k. ris inally made for ig or as w h rc po in the memory The cross in the the tower in 1864 to d de ad as w e spire which milton. In 1957 th of James Hans Ha lightning and was struck by . had to be removed

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ORGAN

in n loft were extended ga or d an le ibu st ve e Th t, quest of former organis 1986 thanks to the be e tic no l wil the wall you Miss Eileen Maguire. On e os th ing the names of the baptismal roll record n in recent years. The orga d ise pt ba en be ve ha o wh d Andrews of Hull around was built by Forster an a very fine example of an 1870 and is considered d. It has two manuals instrument of that perio ical tracker action. It an (keyboards) and a mech by the Wells-Kennedy ed ew was completely ren partnership in 1991.

mmon of decoration was very co Genesis. This style th ury, but many churches in the early 19 cent fell out of favour in the removed theirs when they 20th century. for services where an The side chapel is used uired. It was opened in intimate setting is req came from redundant ure 1992. Some of the furnit while the reredos and churches in Co. Meath, r re made by a parishione credence (side) table we Mr. Sydney McConnell.

MEMORIALS

on the There is a cross in a frame ave e gr west wall. This marked th CHURCH INTERIOR ke of oo in France of George Br e th h wit d the ibe nal, is inscr merton who served in So The pulpit, probably origi In ’. ar he in the to hear, let him Irish Guards and died text ‘let he who has ears l there are symbols of r 1 at ce early months of World Wa the tiled floor of the chan tthew, Mark, Luke and the on Ma Aisne. The memorials the four Gospel writers d te rec ur res e lto mi n mbol of th wall are those of the Ha ns John, surrounding the sy ph, from the book of ro ium family who becames Ba at Christ, the Lamb in tr in, simple wooden piece d live d pla of Holmpatrick an Revelation. The altar is a th century. The cross Their 20 e th in rly Abbotstown House. dating from ea e th in d te na west lly was do family vault is near the by the sculptor Oisin Ke Slator in memory of Kate uce door. The memorial to 1970s by parishioner Br her’ ac Te d Curtis ‘Matron an his mother. n tio ec marks the close conn of Ireland ch ur Ch in ht sig on d mm an The lectern is a co between the church scriptures are read. ere wh ce pla ’s e an th rg is Mo It . es d church Mercers’ an picting the Word of de be glo a on g ed at din an loc st re The eagle Schools which we e world. It was donated in The God spreading across th e on the Navan Road. l during th fel o wh ax om r-L pie Na re memory of David pupils worshipped he a. ric a Boer War in South Af each week and formed n h tio ris ec pa dir e choir under the s just inside th Aras an Uachtarain lie by d pie cu oc rly ula of the organist following s reg boundary. One pew wa in s (1972-1973) and more the school’s closure er ild Ch ine sk Er nt ide es Pr it 1969 when they became Aleese on her official vis recently by President Mc l part of Kings’ Hospita to the parish in 1998. School in Lucan. e walls. The th on d te pic de e ar ts lis The four evange of the Psalms and the book biblical texts come from

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a beautiful e story of St. Hubert is Th WS of the window. one. He is in the middle STAINED GLASS WINDO d. He loved four As he grew up he was a bit wil e th ts pic de , 50 18 where m g fro h hunting in the forests near to wit The east window, datin ) sm ali nd va ing low sin fol r repair e day he committed the On d. rly ea evangelists (one is unde live he an s wa an lic pe lican. The iday instead of the Lamb and also a pe it that at of hunting on Good Fr was hunting, s ha d en leg t: ris Ch of aying. As he symbol of the sacrifice its breast and feed fasting and pr at ck . The plu l wil an lic pe a er, face-to-face with a stag ss me times of hung ca gla he ed ain st r he ot e th rs, g. One of a crucifix between its antle d s ha wa its own blood to its youn o ag st wh ely at Wh p ho of archbis dying on the windows shows the crest e crests reminding him of Jesus th as ll we as , 63 -18 31 dow you 18 dow cross. At the bottom of the win archbishop of Dublin from win e On n. rto me So in d tracks o live and can see Hubert stopped in his of the Brooke family wh d ne sig de s wa is Th d. Brigi the vision depicts our patron Saint Glass studios in 2001 after at the sight of the stag and ed ss. Hubert felt executed by Abbey Stain ss window. of Christ on the cro gla red lou co s iou ev ways. He pr e vandalism damaged th rke the warned and he changed his for ten Cla rry Ha by is le ais h ut lived The last window in the so ss artist. became a Christian and gla rmit. Later ed he ain a st as h l pre-eminent Iris years in the forest t and became a bishop. Al ies pr a ed ain ord s wa he in his life est of Ardenne. W the 8th century in the for DO in IN ed W en pp KE ha AR is CL th Y RR THE HA a Greek an order St. Luke is on the right of the window. He was d ce pla h ris pa is th of s lls us On 27th April, R.F. Brooke e four Gospels which te window th e of Th e w. on do e ot win wr ss He gla or. ed ain doct wrote the Acts with Harry Clarke for a st of Harry Clarke may be seen of Jesus Christ. He also ws ne od go e rk th wo e th y rly church. It cost £270. Toda d. They make of the Apostles which tells us about the ea he is the lan e th ut ho ug ro th s ing was a doctor, in churches and build h us about faith, they is no surprise that, because he ac te es ey th ul, tif au be k surgeons. But the story do places loo rough d th an s s or ine ct sh do ht of lig int e th sa n en Wh patro at the saint was a great th help us to worship God. see three saints: St. George, ed nis og rec is It . ere th we not end pired many the glass in this window, their stories artist with words and also that his writings ins inted a u yo ll te l wil we w No . ke says that he pa St. Hubert and St. Lu for you to see if you visit masterpieces of art. One legend That is what you can w do win e th in dy ea alr e which ar gin Mary. picture of the Blessed Vir of this stained glass window. the church. om doing in the bott ed glass window. see him ol is the winged ox and you can see this symbol ain st e th of t lef e th St. George is on ith in His symb rtyrs who died for his fa ma ll. rly ea e th of e on s He wa outs, of on the church wa sc y bo of int sa n tro rke pa e our beautiful Harry Cla w he the 3rd century. He is th of do y or win st ss e gla th ed ow ain kn st u yo is In th Now a masterpiece. soldiers and of England. know very little window. We are very fortunate to have such We ur. mo ar s er’ ldi so a ed. When we is depicted wearing though they It is a good thing that it has now been repair en ev ds en leg of y nt ple We see e about him but there ar not just see the saints. , shown do him t we ou w ab do win ies e or th st t at k es and nic the world changed them The loo are not true. One of the d of lle ht ca lig e ok th bo t a ris in Ch ld s to su is dow how Je us understand in the bottom of the win cued a maiden made them new people. Stained glass helps res e org Ge . St w ho lls te nlight shines Golden Legend. It and became the meaning of being a Christian Just as su d ise pt ba re we le op meone pe from a dragon. Many ow now ristian, a saint even, is so kn Ch le a op so pe , ss se ur gla co a h Of ug is. g ro th th sus is shining, someone lon Christians when they saw often they make the mistake Je of ht lig e th om wh h ug thro and . that this did not happen at all. The badge ago, someone today, just like you and me ist ex t no did e org Ge . of thinking that St . ss on a white background of St. George is a red cro

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GLADYS HUTCHINSON (nee Smith) was born in Castleknock and went to church in the parish since she was very young. When she was a child, she went to the 11.30am service, then in the afternoon she went to Sunday School and at 7pm she went to another service! Gladys went to the Castleknock National School when she was a child. It was placed in the parish beside the church. There were only 7 pupils in the entire school at one time. Today, Gladys has two grandchildren in the school called Heidi and Juliet. She was one of the two Church Wardens, the Rector’s Church Warden and the People’s Church Warden. The two Church Wardens have to attend all the occasions in the church. They set up the communion. They put the money from the collection into the safe. They always have to be early in the winter. Gladys is now retired from being a Church Warden. Other people take care of the church too such as flower arrangers, grounds-keepers and cleaners. Gladys’s favourite things in church are singing hymns and meeting people. Her favourite hymn is ‘Now thank we all our God’ because it sounds so beautiful. She goes to church every week and during Covid she watched the online service every week. She said that was very different.

CANON PAUL HOUSTON has been the rector in Castleknock since 2009. He has gone to church all his life, but not always in Castleknock. He was raised in Belfast so he did not attend

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Castleknock National School. He went to the Boys’ Model School in Belfast. He attends church services every week and attended all the online services during Covid. His favourite thing about church is the music. His favourite hymn is ‘Praise my soul the king of heaven’. He is the Rector of the parish. There are a lot of people who help out in the church. The church organist is Fern Bradley who has played music in the church for the last 4 years. During Covid, members of the choir would record pieces of hymns and Fern would put them together. The two Church Wardens have to be in church early to set up for communion. There are flower arrangers, cleaners, people who run Sunday Club and the members of the two Select Vestries.

SAM MCKEEVER has been a member of the parish for 61 years. He was raised in Co. Louth so he did not attend Castleknock National School. His son went to Castleknock National School and his three grand­ children, Ellie, Sam and Ben are all pupils in Castleknock National School today. Sam’s favourite things in church are setting up for Communion and singing hymns. He has been the Rector’s Church Warden and the People’s Church Warden. Sam goes to church every week, even during Covid which was difficult. His favourite hymn is ‘Amazing Grace’.

Interview VICTOR RAJ has been a parishioner in St. Brigid’s church for the last 6 years. He is now one of the two Church Wardens in the church. For his job as Church Warden, he has to attend every occasion. Victor attended the online services every week during Covid in the church. He was the camera-man for the live-streaming! Victor’s favourite thing is the building of the church because when you look at the outside of it from a bird’s eye view, it looks like a cross. His favourite hymn is ‘Amazing Grace’ because it is very peaceful. Victor did not attend Castleknock National School. He went to school in India. His son is in Senior Infants in Castleknock National School.

MS. MOLONEY

one and because it is situated in the middle of the village almost opposite the church the links between both remain strong. There is great involvement between the members of the church and the school. Many generations of families attend both. Babies are born, baptised in St. Brigid’s, attend Castleknock National School, are confirmed in St. Brigid’s church and often later return there to marry or to baptise their own children. Ms. Moloney says that this is the kind of community that we are lucky to be living in. She says that annually we hold our school Christmas Carol Service and the End of Year Service in St. Brigid’s. Both events are eagerly anticipated by all. The parish supports the school coming to the services and the church wardens are always there to lend a hand. In good times and bad, both St. Brigid’s and Castleknock National School are always there – working to make both the school and the church places where you can be assured of a warm welcome, care and a bright smile.

is the principal of Castleknock National School. She moved to Castleknock in 1997 and joined St. Brigid’s parish. She was made to feel very welcome and even started bringing her baby with her in 2000! In 2005, she became the principal of Castleknock National School and since then has been very involved with both the school and the church and the wonderful community it makes up. Despite all the development, she says that Castleknock remains a village. Perhaps also because the school is such a long established

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OF BAPTISMS 4TH AND IN CHILDREN ST. BRIGID’S IN 5TH CLASS CASTLEKNOCK getting CHURCH, remembers

015. He th His whole n 17 May 2 o d e is pt ge cyborg. a u b h s a a e w k k li ic s N dinner wa had a nice toy and it ll x a e -r y T e h e T g u . ah aptism e to the b family cam ened. th 2015. aptism happ on 17 May after the b r e th ro b r e h with her. aptised with ddy Buddy e T Holly was b d e ll a c other teddy rents, godm She had a pa d n ra g bers re. She remem er being the d o and g fath

CASTLEKNOCK NATIONAL SCHOOL Castleknock National School is the successor of one of the oldest primary schools in Ireland. The original school was endowed, built and opened in 1720. It is quite likely that it would then have not been much more than a hut type structure standing on the lawn adjacent to the present-day parish centre. It was then called the Castleknock Endowed School. In 1962, a new school building was dedicated at a special service by the Most Rev. G. O. Simms, archbishop of Dublin. It was then opened by the deputy Chief Inspector of the Department of Education, Mr. D. O’hUllachain. The school had accommodation for 64 pupils in two classrooms and was provided with all the modern amenities: a playing field and concrete play place, play shelter, toilets, cloakroom accommodation and a water tower. Today, the school is serving the needs of an evergrowing and developing community. There are approximately 208 children. The latest computer technology is available in the school and the Parents’ Association works untiringly to raise funds for the school and to provide extra activities for the children.

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OUR SCHOOL PRAYERS Dear God, I come to say, You’re the reason we learn and play. You have given us light, You help us sleep through the night. You’re the reason that we live, You have so much to give. You make the grass grow And we thank you for everything in this world. Amen This is our school Beside it is our church. We pray for those who dedicate their lives to God And for those whose lives are lost. We pray for the teachers, the staff and the principal. We pray for the students as well as the rest of our community. This is where we come together To love, to learn and to respect God. We pray for his son Jesus Christ our Lord Because he is the one who did not give us what we want But what we need. Amen

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Drumcondra NS John the Baptist Church

community is church for th to es go ly al the month ur school norm last Friday of ry ve E s. on ti ua The church services and grad d we sing songs. an e er th es go ally t go inside our school norm hool. We did no sc r ou om fr alk t for a is one minute w id-19. But we wen ov C of e us ca be year ber 2020. the church this aveyard in Octo gr e th in ts ee r sw Halloween hunt fo

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St. &

John the Baptist Church graveyard visit reports

and the classes n one sunny Monday morning me th n to our local of 4th, 5th and 6 took a trip dow rch and graveyard. church St. John the Baptist chu brick wall of the We walked past the old stone and losing the graveyard church. There is a stone wall enc pe. The graveyard all around. It is a rectangular sha graveyard is well has pathways made of gravel. The walls and graves. cared-for and has lawn around the

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CHURCH The church is from the 12th century. St. John the Baptist’s Church was once known as ‘God’s little acre’. The church was rebuilt in 1443. The church was considered dilapidated in 1743 before Miss Mary Coghill had it restored and rebuilt as a memorial to her brother Marmaduke Coghill who died portrait of in 1738. In 1896, the church merged with North Strand Church to form Marmaduke the parish of Drumcondra North Strand. The Church has a memorial to the parishioners that fought in the Great War. A report from 1831 stated that the churchyard was in a deplorable condition - no sooner was a body buried but it was removed by body-snatchers.

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GRAVEYARD From a trip to St. John the Baptist church and graveyard we have noticed most of the graves date back to the 1700s. The oldest grave was of Mr. Marmaduke Coghill. He has a large tomb on the northside of the church. In 1721 Dr. Coghill was in control of the interments in the old graveyard. The skull and crossbones is a symbol found on a grave in the graveyard. The skull and crossbones death head depicted on headstones was commonly used as ‘Momento Mori’ in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were a warning to us all that we cannot avoid death and no matter what our status in life, we are all the same. Two graves are surrounded by spiky chains and have the skull and crossbones engraved on them. We could not read their names because they were so faded. A few of the graves seem more like tables but they are actually tombstones. One of the graves is extremely faded and surrounded by a cage. There are multiple people buried there.

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‘RIP’

FAMOUS BURIALS • JAMES GANDON (1743-1823) was an architect of the Custom House in Dublin. James Gandon was buried by his own request in the grave of his lifelong friend, Francis Grose. • PEADAR KEARNEY (1891-1911), who wrote the famous Irish National Anthem, is buried in St. John the Baptist’s graveyard. He attended St. Patrick’s National School and was a member of the John O’Mahony Hurling Club. Heeney died on 13th June 1911, aged 29 in Jervis Street Hospital, Dublin. • SEAMUS MCGOWAN was born in 1874, and was a member of the Irish Citizen Army and was led by James Connolly. He was well known throughout the army for organising Aeridheacht (open air meetings) in Croydon Park, Fairview. After the Easter Rising (24-29 April 1916) he was imprisoned. He died in March 1955 aged 81. Two men from the Irish Citizen Army have been buried in the graveyard at St. John the Baptist’s Church. We found a grave belonging to someone who died fighting in World War 1. His name was Victane Lentaince. He had a wife, a daughter and a son who

were all buried there too when they died. He got shot in the shoulder and died shortly after in hospital. Disclaimer ... it is hard to read names on any of the graves because they are so old, so it is hard to research. But here are some of the gravestone we could read: • James Gandon was a draftsman but some might call him an artist. ‘He shall be forever with us’. • Frances Grose aforethought Relics. His memory will remain’. • Theophilus Moore was a columnist. He ‘will be a beacon within our hearts’. • Thomas Furlong was a lyricist. ‘His sweet words remain’. • Patrick Heeney was a carpenter. ‘RIP’

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Holy Well Traditionally the Holy Well in the graveyard has been used to cure sore eyes. In recent years the well was restored by parishioners and friends of the church.

NATURE IN THE GRAVEYARD: On our visit, we heard birds chirping in the trees and the breeze was making the trees sway. One of the boys in the class saw some rats. There are yew trees, oak trees and ash trees in the graveyard. There are flowers surrounding the church and some wild flowers in the graveyard.

PRAYERS: Thank you God for showing us a path of light instead of darkness. Amen Loving God, I pray that you will comfort us in pain and suffering because of lockdown. I pray that you will lend your skill to the hands of our healers and bless the means used for our cure. Give to us such confidence in the power of your grace than when we are afraid we may put our whole trust in you; through our saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

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EARLY HISTORY OF DRUMCONDRA NATIONAL SCHOOL

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he earliest record of a school with a possible parish connection is to be found in a newspaper article published in the year 1783. The notice was dated Dublin, September 23rd and says ‘we have the pleasure to inform the public’. On 29th November 1900, Rev. John Connell of 2 Gracepark Gardens wrote to the National Board of Education seeking a new Church of Ireland school for Drumcondra. He wrote again on 22nd April 1901, stating that he wished to proceed with the application, yet nothing further is heard of this until March 1906.

On 4th April 1906, Rev. E. H. Lewis-Crosby of Rutland Square received a letter from the National Board of Education turning down his application for a grant to build a new school in Drumcondra. Undeterred, he wrote to the National Board on 28th April 1906 seeking a loan to build the school as he felt the area was in dire need of a new school. The Board asked the senior inspector W. P. Headen to report on the need for a new school on 3rd May 1906. W.P. Headen concluded there was a need for a new schools as: 1. There was a large Church of Ireland population in Drumcondra 2. There were between 80 and 100 school age children on the roll for the Sunday School based in the church 3. There was no Protestant managed school within its limits at that time 4. Rev. Lewis-Crosby had chosen a site and the site was available at that time. There was a meeting of the parish representatives on 22nd May 1906. The Rev. Canon Mahaffy, rector of St. Peter’s, proposed a motion, that there was an urgent need for a National School under Church of Ireland management in the district of Upper Drumcondra.

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The school opened on 20th August 1906, despite the rector not having received official sanction for this opening. On 9th September 1906, he wrote to the National Board asking that the school be recognised. At that time, there were 67 children on the roll. On 29th  September 1906, he wrote to the National Board asking for payment for the two members of staff. Thomas Boyd had moved from Enniskillen where he had been a principal and Annie Watt had moved from St. Columba’s NS. On 26th October 1906, Rev. LewisCrosby received a letter on 26th October informing him that the commissioners had recommended the school to the Board of Works for a loan to erect a permanent structure. This was followed up by a visit of the inspector on 31st October to inform the National Board if the salaries of the teachers should be sanctioned. The school hours were 9am 3.30pm. The school had their religion class from 9.30am to 10am to facilitate the children who did not attend religion class. The temporary school building was made of corrugated iron, lined with wood. There was one classroom, 20 feet long, 30 feet across and 11.6 feet in height. There was accommodation for 67 children, using the measurement of 9 square feet per child, yet there were 87 on the roll. This temporary building was paid for by the parish. The teachers’ salaries were sanctioned on 24th November 1906. By January 1907, there were 123 pupils on the roll. The school moved to its current location on Church Avenue in 1907. Annie Watt stayed teaching in the school until 1934. When she turned 60 in 1932 she received special permission from the Department of Education to remain in her post for another two years.

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ST MATTHEW’S IRISHTOWN History of St. Matthew’s Church The church is over 300 years old. Building started in 1704 and finished in 1706. The tower was added in 1713. A lot of the church was re-built in 1878 and 1879 and the original tower was kept. The church is made out of stone and granite. The stone had to be cut into exactly the right size and shape. Skilled stone masons would be paid lots of money to cut the stone. St. Matthew’s Church has gone through 2 major building projects. They include to the extension of the church by the British Army in 1879 and the addition of the Sunday room. When the British Army extended the church they had to move graves and bodies. When the builders were fixing the church, a hole appeared in the floor, it lead into the North Crypt. Part of the North Crypt is sealed and has been like that for over 150 years. There may still be bodies in the North Crypt. It is possible to get into the North crypt but you would have to break the floor or break the wall of bricks.

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FIVE RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ST. MATTHEW’S CHURCH - Some people bought pews so they would not have to share. - Some people bought windows in the church to put stained glass in them, as a memorial or decoration. - Originally there was no central aisle in the church, instead there were two aisles on either side. - The sea came up to where Star Stationery is now on Sandymount Road. - 3,000 people would die under the age of 5 from disease and hunger.

THE MINISTERS IN ST. MATTHEW’S CHURCH What do you see when you see a minister? - Respectful - Interested in the church - Kind Ministers weren’t always wealthy but they weren’t poor either. Not many people wanted to be a minister as the wage for it wasn’t very much. 1721 – 1726 Rev. John Burrow the first Minister in St. Matthew’s Church 1726 – 1741 Rev. Michael Hartlib 1741 – 1750 Rev. Isaac Man 1750 – 1764 Rev. Theophilus Brocas 1764 – 1795 Rev. John Brocas 1795 – 1828 Rev. Robert Ball 1828 – 1831 Rev. John Evans Johnson 1831 – 1869 Rev. Richard Henry Hall 1869 – 1871 Rev. Arthur Gore Ryder 1871 – 1900 Rev. Robert B. Stoney helped build the extension to the church. He also closed the graveyard. 1900 – 1930 Rev. J.S. Carolin 1930 – 1954 Rev. R. E. Weir 1954 – 1956 Rev. Thomas Wheeler 1956 – 1973 Rev. John Francis Oliver William 1973 – 2003 Rev. Richard Henry Bertram 2003 – 2013 Rev. Edward George Ardis 2013 – 2021 Rev. John Marchant was our most recent Minister. He was a kind, respectful and friendly minister. He loved the school and came in very often to talk to us about religion and the church. 2021 …….

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GRAVE ROBBERS Grave robbers also known as Body Snatchers were around in the 1700 and 1800s. At night they used to sneak into the graveyards and dig up fresh bodies. Then they would sell the bodies to scientists, surgeons and doctors. They could sell the corpses for about 10 shillings in Ireland but they would often export the bodies to England where they could get £20 to £35. How could you stop grave robbers? Usually people would hire someone to watch over the grave, hight and day for the first week or two, because after that the body would start to rot and wouldn’t sell. If you were really wealthy you could buy a huge slab of stone to cover the grave, so it would be extremely difficult to rob the grave. In St. Matthew’s Church, they built a 10 foot wall around the grounds of the church and graveyard to prevent the grave robbers getting in.

CHURCH CRYPTS There are two crypts in St. Matthew’s Church. The North Crypt has been bricked up for over 150 years. It is no longer in use. No one knows what is in there, though many people think there are dead bodies. The South Crypt is open but no longer in use. It is underneath the church. Underneath the floorboards in the South Crypt, there is said to be dead bodies. In the South Crypt there used to be floods. The most memorable flood was when it all flooded up to 5 feet and all the bodies in the crypt were floating around. The bodies and the coffins disintegrated and all the bones from different people got mixed up. So they didn’t know which bones belonged to who. So they reburied all the bones in the graveyard.

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A few facts: • 9,000 bodies were buried in St. Matthew’s graveyard, and 3,000 – 4,000 of them were children under 5 years of age. • There were around 60 burials each year. • Sometimes people could not afford a grave so they would leave their children’s bodies on the street. In 1825, the minister at the time, Rev. Robert Ball, was in the church when he saw a few men sitting beside a freshly dug grave holding knives. Rev. Ball thought they were grave robbers so he got the police to come and investigate. Turns out that the butcher, Mr. Kelly, had lost his son earlier that week and he was buried in the graveyard, so Mr. Kelly employed people to watch over the grave so that the grave robbers wouldn’t steal his son’s body. One of the major players in grave robbing was a man re facts: o m w e f A ears named Wilson Rae, or as he called himself, Surgeon over the y e s r o w t o that Rae. He lived near St. Matthew’s Church in bbing g rly 1800s a e e h • Grave ro t in could Irishtown. At Wilson Rae’s trial in 1829, he was passed workhouses d n a s until a law n o ere is r denied that he had actually performed any ant that th o died in p e h m w le is p h o T e . p t the o dissec grave robbing (even though others claimed surgeons t . o t n e iv g be ave robbing r g efore r o f t e that he had). But he was found guilty k mar r 3 days b e o r o 2 m e o v n a r s g wa bodies in the of buying bodies and selling them on to 3 days the ly be left n r o o 2 ld u r o e w t ause af • Bodies others – often exporting the bodies to robbed bec e b ld u o w they ing in England and Scotland. It seemed that grave robb tting. o r r o t f r a t y s t n ld u wou on co he had exported hundreds of bodies. most comm e h t s a w If the bodies were in a bad state, there d at • Dublin a sailor die n e p o l . il t d s n was no market for use as dissection but Irela d was urch e graveyar tthew’s Ch h a t M e r . t e h S w in , there was always a market for teeth and buried they One time oing to be in but as g f f s o a c w is e h hair because they could make false teeth H sea. a him in they heard They put e . v d a r r a g y e is and wigs. v h a r g to nd lower him in he coffin a t d e n started to e p o ise. They ve!!! strange no was still ali e h t u o d e it turn

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FAMOUS BURIALS IN ST. MATTHEW’S CHURCH GRAVEYARD • Lundy Foot made tobacco and snuff. He was also a magistrate and hanged people including the three Kearneys who were accused of murder. Someone shot at him but he survived. He was murdered in 1835 in Kilkenny after the eviction of a tenant. He was buried in his family vault in St. Matthew’s Church. • Dermot Morgan was the actor who played Fr. Ted. He was funny. He was born in 1952. He died in 1997 at the age of 45 from a heart attack. He was buried in St. Matthew’s Church graveyard.

BEGGARS BUSH BARRACKS The Beggars Bush Barracks was designed as a training depot. Two squadrons of the south Irish Horse were formed at the barracks in the early 20th century. The squadrons were mobilised at the barracks in 1914 before being deployed to the western front. During the 1916 Rising the troops from Beggars Bush Barracks forced the rebels out of Boland’s Mill in Grand Canal. Rebels took the school tables from St. Stephen’s School (which became part of our school) to try to stop the British Army advancing.

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The barracks were first handed over to the Irish State Forces in 1922. The barracks became the new headquarters of the National Army. Erskine Childers a leading Irish revolutionary was executed at the barracks on 24th November 1922 after conviction by an Irish military court for the unlawful possession of a gun. The land is now used by the Irish Labour History Museum and the National Print Museum. The barracks has had a pub since 1803. The pub inside the barracks is called Slattery’s. The name ‘Beggars Bush’ came from the thieves and beggars that used to hide in the woods around the barracks. The barracks is surrounded by very high walls. About 600 troops came from the Beggars Bush Barracks and another 200 troops came from the Pigeon Houses Barracks to St. Matthew’s Church on Sundays. The Pigeon Houses were created in 1814 to protect Dublin port and to stop Irish rebels. Once, the Pigeon Houses had drawbridges, a hospital, an armoury, a magazine and stores. St. Matthew’s Church could only hold 300 people so it was made much bigger in the 19th century to make space for all the soldiers.

ST. MARY’S CHURCH, DONNYBROOK Well St. Mary’s is a very old church in Donnybrook that was built in 1827 and opened to the public in 1830. It is located behind the RDS. It is now closed down and is not a church anymore. St. Mary’s can trace its history back to 1827 when the foundation stone was laid. The building opened up 3 years later to the people. St. Mary’s was built after St. Matthew’s Church which was built in 1704. In the olden days to get to St. Mary’s it was a 2 hour walk from Ringsend. Now the walk is 5 minutes down the road. St. Mary’s had to close down because bits are starting to fall off. And St. Matthew’s Church in Irishtown owns St. Mary’s and said it would be a lot of work and money to get it up and running again when they could keep the money to help St. Matthew’s. So as hard to decide as it was they had to close down beloved St. Mary’s Church. What will happen to St. Mary’s now it’s closed? Well, there might be a chance that it could be sold to a company to make it into an office building but the truth is that no-one really knows what is going to happen to St. Mary’s, because it is so old this building cannot be knocked down.

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ST. MATTHEW’S NATIONAL SCHOOL In the 18th century, there were no schools in the area. Poor children in places such as Ringsend and Irishtown wouldn’t have received any education. The Reverend found a qualified teacher to set up a school. St. Matthew’s is the oldest primary school in Sandymount with its first schoolhouse built in 1824. It cost £800 to build and was only for boys. The church bought a field on the opposite side of the road and in 1904, the new girls’ school was built there. It is now the Gospel Hall. When St. Matthew’s Church got flooded the boys’ and girls’ schools got flooded too. When St. Matthew’s Church was enlarged in 1879 and open every day, the children from the schools went to the church.

BOYS’ SCHOOL The first school built beside the church in 1832 was the Boys’ School. It included a day school, a Sunday school, a Widows’ Alms House, a dispensary and a shop for supplying the poor with basic needs for reduced prices. The running costs were substantial since they were covering the salaries of the Master and Mistress, payment for the Attending Physician, as well as providing fuel, books, clothing for the children and medicine for the dispensary. The Boys’ School was knocked down in 1951 and nothing else has been built there. In the 1914-1918 War 16 members of the St. Matthew’s Boys Brigade died. Their names are:

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• James Charles Bannan • James Blackmore • Walter Blachwell • Edward Davey • Samuel Davey • Walter Harper • William Louth • John McGurdy • James Mannix • Frederick Morrow • William Murphy • Ernest Peel • Henry Rose • Edward Tuttey • George Twanley

’ THE GIRLS SCHOOL

ther o build ano t d e id c e d s’ was m the Boy o r f In 1904, it d a o r ms, across the 3 classroo e r e w schoolhouse e r e h ssroom had he girls. T t la c r h o f c a l E o . o s Sch room the h 2 smaller oal to heat it c w e h e t n o r o f ig 1 b t later ish paid eachers bu t and the par e 3 c e la r p e e w ir f of e a he number years ther t o ly t r a e e u d In he achers school. boys and t ed to 4 te s e a h e T r c . in ls ir s g a to that w ys and that used ere both bo g w in d o il h u w b s e t n n infa the o was educated in ent school r r e u r c e w e h t ls ir r g fte wn ’ School. A knocked do t o n s a be the Girls w l into irls’ Schoo as turned w built, the G It l. o o h c ys’ S ll. like the Bo n Gospel Ha the Irishtow

ST. MATTHEW’S NATIONAL SCHOOL TODAY In 1959, the girls’ school wasn’t big enough for all the pupils so they moved to where the parish tennis courts were. Our current school was built on the tennis courts. Our current school building was very small to start with, it only had 2 classrooms. Now it has 13 teachers and 240 pupils so there have been a FEW extensions! More and more classrooms were built. Then a new hall was built. The yard has changed in many ways since 1959. At the start it was a piece of concrete. In 2016 we had a grass area, monkey bars and climbing equipment.

REAL SCHOOL FACTS: • The old school house was built in 1824. • They had a school just for girls and a separate one for boys. • In 1959, the new school was built. • The grounds the new school was built on used to be tennis courts. • There were 2 teachers. • There was 1 hall, 2 classrooms and a toilet • In 1985, 3 new classrooms were built. • There are now 230 pupils. • There are 25 or more staff members working in the school today.

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e g n a r G e h t   ’ Kill o e for an area ill O’ The Grange is an unusual nam The name is near Blackrock in south Co. Dublin. ns mea church of taken from the Irish language and for grain farms the granary as the area was noted ic foundation of that supplied food for the monast ral today) in the Holy Trinity (Christ Church Cathed There has been a middle of the old the city of Dublin. Grange for a very Christian community in Kill O’ The long time. . Kill parish – To love & serve the Lord und Deansgrange The number of people in the area aro trams through had shot up with the building of more popular the and st Foxrock and along the coa A NEW PARISH IS BORN! wn or Dun sto King of n tow trade through the nearby in the county of Dublin. Kill or Kill O’ The Grange is a Parish Laoghaire. €171. Two-thirds 1864. The Archbishop of in Kill church in 1837 amounted to ds fun The Kill O’ The Grange church was built in th the Patron of rch on 26 July 1864. to the Dean of Christ church and paid was Dublin, Rev. Dr. Trench opened the chu hop of Dublin took the saying the 24th Psalm. Monkstown. In 1860, the Archbis He walked up the aisle of the church ained the same. place of the Dean, but everything rem rch got independence By the end of the century, Kill chu , who worked in the t said that the church lace Later in 1860, a notice came out tha and its own Rector, Rev. Thomas Wal had been established. church for thirty years. ory r the back of the rect However, as anyone who looks ove Grange goes back a long The wall will see the history of Kill O’ TEMPORARY PREMISES s in the 17th  century ruin into fell rch chu s an’ Fint St. time. the in April 1862. The services probably when the 1641 rebellion and Thomas Wallace was made a rector ient Bentley supplied in Anc battle of Dean’s Grange occurred. e held in a special place which Mr wer red sac r bought land in 1859 crosses, a “bullan stone” and a rock. William Bently, and his brothe Fox rch chu mines. well have been found close by. The ch went from Brewery Road to Carrick whi was ) and rich Cluain Caoin (the meadow in March 1864. ity, Trin The earliest vestry meeting was held y Hol the of ry Prio the attached to for g quickly. The parish hall (now Christ Church Cathedral) though In the 1960s Kill parish was growin a ame refore a new parish hall a bit in the early 13th Century it bec was no longer fit for purpose and the building project happened prebend of St Patrick’s Cathedral. was built for the 250 families. This nt in Kill. He organized a uti­ during the time Billy Gibbons spe Kill O’ The Grange is a simple and bea cribed as ‘Billy’s New hic talent competition in what was des fully proportioned Victorian Got over Hall’. building which has been bettered t eren diff of n itio the last 150 years by the add g the memorial window memorials, the most beautiful bein d shepherd in memory of behind the altar of Christ the goo Charles Welland from 1889 to 1923.

K

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Y THE RECTOR the church are sh lives ho oversee

ri people w or of Kill pa Usually the commodation. The rect e church (4 minutes h ac to th ctory provided wit hich is situated close Alan!) The re here. – r o t c re w t n ry e in the recto according to our curre ast. Classes were don funds p lk a ve e a w h h t d n o in t o l c 30 se in order he schoo s part of t hey sold off where they had a youth was used a ssive gardens which t n be a carava ma It also had rish hall. There used to out 150 years old. pa ab to build the m) living. The rectory is a h ra worker (G

INSIDE THE

CHURCH

is where t because it would n a rt o p im ry you f church is ve the church, The inside o nd worship God. Inside n table, io a people pray reading desk, commun t. The , n it fo see a pulp ents and a t due to m ru t s in , ll e u s in it b organ, b for to have pew church used ook them out to allow covid they t ncing. social dista

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MEMORIAL PLAQUES There is a plaque in memory of George Smith and Ben Smith who died in 1942. There is a plaque remembering Colonel and Mrs. Morrison and their two sons Richard and Robert who both died in the war. There is a plaque in memory of Rev. Thomas Wallace, the first rector in Kill parish. The plaque is inscribed on Victorian marble. There is a plaque in memory of two sisters Edwina Catherine and Amelia Mary Selina who both died on the same day in 1926, and their brother Frederick who died three years later. Edwina was 83 and Amelia was 78. The plaque also remembered their father Rev. Beresford. STAINED GLASS There are three stained glass windows in the church. One window is located beside the pulpit on the north wall of the nave. It is different to the others because it has no pictures. The east window of the Good Shepherd is in memory of Rev. Charles Welland and was designed by Herbert McGoldrick. The war memorial window was designed by Catherine O’Brien. It shows the Archangel Michael on the left and St. George on the right. It was commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Smith who lost their two sons George and Ben in the war. MUSIC IN KILL CHURCH In autumn of 1976, the music group was formed in Kill O’ The Grange church. Alex Curtis was the leader of the group and the parish organist. Six different organists have been appointed to play in Kill church over the last ninety years. The choir has always played an important part in the worship in Kill church and many individuals have given long and faithful service in leading the singing over the years.

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Parishioner Interview JAMES DARLING > When did you join the church? Can you tell us a bit about it? I joined Kill O’The Grange Parish in 2002. I made the change from my previous parish which, I felt, had become pretty dead spiritually. I have never looked back! > What is your favourite memory during your time in the church and parish? What stands out for me is the friendliness of the people, and wonderful leadership over the 19 years that I have been a parishioner. Above all, the commitment that the parish has ‘to love and serve the Lord’, firmly based on the Scriptures. > Has the church changed much since you joined it? Apart from the obvious changes forced on us by the COVID-19 pandemic, the parish has respected the past while adapting to future needs. > Is there anything that used to happen in the church which you would like to see return? In the past few years – when the coronavirus didn’t stop us from singing! – there has been greater emphasis on modern Christian songs. Many of these are excellent, but some I find tuneless and over repetitive. I would like to see more use of traditional hymns, but certainly these should be balanced by good modern ones, especially by writers such as Graham Kendrick, Robin Mark, Chris Tomlin and Keith and Kristyn Getty. > Have you ever had a job in the church? Several jobs! In 2004 I volunteered to edit the Parish Newsletter for about 2 years, then monthly but since 2019 quarterly. I’m still doing it, 17 years later! I edit the parish’s article for each issue of the Diocesan magazine ‘Church Review.’ I am currently a member of the Select Vestry, and have been on it since 2004 when I was Rector’s Churchwarden for a year. (I took a break from 2017-2021.) For a time I acted as Select Vestry secretary. I have represented the parish on the Diocesan Synod for several years, and was elected to represent the Diocese on the General Synod.

I am joint leader of one of our parish Bible discussion groups. Finally, I even helped to clean the school building a few years ago! > Have you ever been part of any clubs or society’s in the parish? Does this still happen today? Not as such, except as mentioned under ‘jobs’ above. > What would you say has changed most since you joined the church? The effects of the coronavirus! > Did you go to Kill O’ The Grange National School? Do you remember when the school opened or when it moved across the road? No. My primary school was Rathgar Junior School, followed by the High School, Dublin and Saint Mary’s School in Nairobi, Kenya. > How many rectors have passed through Kill O’ The Grange since you first arrived? Can you tell us about them? Three: The Rev. Ferran Glenfield, now Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh; The Rev. Arthur Young; and the Rev. Alan Breen. I got to know Ferran’s predecessor, the Rev. Canon Billy Gibbons, now sadly deceased. All were excellent people in very different ways, and with deep commitment to the Christian Faith. > Has the rectory changed over the years? There was a major refurbishment of the Rectory during Ferran’s occupancy. > Have you been part of the missions team in the church or what have you done to help those in need in places such as Sudan or Uganda? I have kept in touch with CMS Ireland, and attended two of their conferences in Armagh around 2005. I keep in regular touch with Gill Olaaka and her family in Uganda, especially as she sends me articles for the Newsletter. I have met with the former Bishop of Yei, South Sudan on his visits to Ireland, and I include developments there in our Newsletter.

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Parishioner Interview

JONO AND SEB INTERVIEWS – YOUTHWORKERS

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> What is a youth worker? How long have you worked here and where did you work before? Jono – I am a youth pastor. I organize events in the church and the parish. I may also help with church services. I am doing this job for 4 years. Before coming to KOTG I worked in another church for 3 years. Seb – I am a family worker. I work with children and families in the parish to teach them God’s word in a fun way. I am doing this job for 3 years. This is the first church I have worked in. > What is your favourite thing about your job? Jono – I love working with teenagers and see them grow as God’s people. Seb – I love the behind-the-scenes work. I like making sure everything is planned well. I also love spending time with children. Jono & Seb – we both love our jobs. We get to drink loads of coffee. It is a flexible job and we get to talk to interesting people. We also have lots of fun in the clubs we run in the parish. KOTG church is not just a building, It is a group of people. People are the most important thing about a church. There is a fantastic community with people of all ages here. > Do you like working together? Jono & Seb – we love working together. Sometimes we have different opinions but that’s okay. It allows us to challenge each other and see different perspectives. > Were you always a Christian? Jono – I started taking my religion more seriously from age 16. Seb – my grandfather was a rector. I didn’t fully understand religion when I was 12/13. At 13 I went to a summer camp in Avoca Manor and realized how important faith was to me. > Are you involved in community events in the parish? Jono & Seb – yes we are involved with the kids’ club, creche, coffee mornings, Wednesday services, Core Club, Maxback, bible study for teenagers and all ages, men’s and women’s breakfast, summer and Easter camps, trips away and messy church. > Is there anything you would do differently in the church / in your job? Jono & Seb – No we have every opportunity to change anything we like. When we first started this job, we changed a few things around. There are other jobs we would like to continue which we were doing before Covid such as helping the community more.

INTERVIEW WITH ROSEMARY KNIGHT – PARISHIONER > When did you first join the parish? I jointed the parish in 1970. I got baptized in Dalkey church, confirmed in Monkstown and married in Dalkey. > Do you think there have been any changes in Kill church since you first joined? Yes, particularly with regard to the ethos. The clergy are more casual now than they were and they are often called by their first name instead of by their title. There are also a lot more modern hymns sung. The communion rails have been taken away which some people didn’t like. > Did you attend KOTG National School? No, I went to St. Paul’s National School in Glenageary. > Who was the rector when you first joined Klll church? Dobbs was the first rector in Kill parish when I joined. He was very good to the parishioners. Then Gibbons also arrived, followed by Glenfield, then Aurthur Young and we currently have Alan Breen as our minister. > What kind of events used to take place in the parish? We used to have dances in the parish hall, as well as talent competitions in the church. Mark Armstrong often won, he also played in the No. 1 Army Bank. I also attend the Mothers’ Union. > What is your favourite memory of Kill parish? My daughter’s wedding which took place in Kill church last October. > Were you ever a member of the Girls’ Brigade? Yes, I was in the Girls’ Brigade from the age of 3 until I got married. I was acting captain for 1 year. We entered many competitions and were very successful. > Did you ever have a job in the church? Yes, I was on the Select Vestry for a number of years. I was also the secretary to the Mothers’ Union and I was in charge of the linen and brass rota. > Do you like being part of Kill Parish? Yes I have made friends for life here and there is a lovely community atmosphere here. > What is your favourite hymn? My favourite hymn is the traditional version of ‘Be Thou My Vision’. Hymns are a big part of the Church of Ireland, they’re something you never forget. > What is your favourite Bible story? The Good Samaritan is my favourite Bible story along with the Christmas story. They’re great stories to listen to time and time again.

INTERVIEW WITH REV. ALAN – THE RECTOR > What do you do as Rector? I reach out to people and help people in their lives. My role is to love people and not to judge. I am here to tell the story to those want to hear it. > Were you always a Christian? Yes. When I was a teenager a youth worker brought me out to fly a kite during a difficult time in my life. He really inspired me and helped me to see that God loves everyone. > What is your favourite story in the bible? It is a story from John 8 where a crowd is ready to throw stones at a woman who had done wrong. Then Jesus said throw the stones if you have never done anything wrong. This shows that Jesus will forgive and welcome you into his world. > How many years have you worked in Kill church for? I have worked here for four years but I have worked in church ministry for 27/28 years. I started as a youth worker when I was 19 in Dun Laoghaire. In 2009 I worked as a youth pastor in Wicklow. > What is your favourite part of the job? I love chatting to people, listening to their stories and having a coffee with them. I am here for anyone during all aspects of life, from difficult times or times of hope and happiness. I love the community spirit and how everyone works together. A church should never depend upon only one person. > What is your favourite movie? The 1978 Superman movie. > What is a rectory? A rectory is where the rector of a parish lives, it is normally quite close to the church. My family and I live in the old rectory which is about 150 years old.

> Have you been involved in any missions in Ireland or worldwide? Yes I have been to places such as the Czech Republic, Kansas and places in Africa. I have done things such as building orphanages and teaching God’s word. Mission trips are fantastic as you are helping others. It really impacts you as you see how others live and struggle across the world who are not as fortunate as you. > Did you know any of the past rectors in Kill church? Yes, I have met other rectors such as Billy Gibbons, Ferran Glenfield and Aurthur Young. I also know Dobbs’ nephew. > Is the bell rung in the church? Yes, it is rung for funerals, weddings or church services. There is a rota for people in the parish to ring the bell. > Do you always wear the robes / dress / collar when you are preaching? I wear the collar most days. For some people it can bring comfort, however, for others they would rather not see it. I do wear the ‘dress’ during the services in the church. For me the uniform doesn’t make me who I am. > Is there a graveyard connected to the church? No, there’s not but some families have or buy plots in other graveyards such as Deansgrange cemetery or Kilternan graveyard.

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INTERVIEW WITH SANDRA – KOTG SCHOOL SECRETARY AND PAST-PUPIL >D  o you think Kill O’ The Grange and the areas surrounding it has changed much over the years? Yes. I remember it as quite a rural area growing up with animals grazing in the fields. > What are your links to Kill O’ The Grange church? I got married in Kill O’ The Grange church and I am now a parishioner in the church. I have worked as the school secretary for many years now also. > Has anything changed in Kill O’ The Grange church since you first started attending it? Yes, the pews have been taken out, the communion rail has been taken out, the carpet has been changed, the doors at the back are new, there’s now a sound system and there is now a wooden baptism font which can be easily moved instead of a granite one. There also used to be a fir tree outside the church. > Who was the rector in Kill church when you joined it? Rev. Dobbs was the rector when I first joined KOTG. He lived in the same rectory house as Alan lives in now. > Have you got any interesting/fascinating facts about KOTG? Well my father actually painted the church using the fir tree which used to be at the front of the church as a ladder. > Do you like being part of the church? Yes I do. I really enjoy singing the hymns in church. I also love the community feel in KOTG. Everyone looks out for each other; members of the parish remember big milestones in your life and you have friends for life and therefore someone to talk in times of need. > Have you had any jobs in the church? I haven’t had a job in the church but I was captain of the Girls’ Brigade. My mum started Girls’ Brigade in KOTG in 1959. > Are the activities that happen in KOTG parish the same as years ago? No, some have the same idea such as Sunday school which is now called Sunday club. There was no messy church years ago either. > Do you remember this school being built? Yes, I do. I also worked in the old one-storey school here when there were prefabs. We used to have to put buckets in them to catch the rainwater. It was very exciting seeing this school being built and moving into it. There also used to be a different entrance into the school than there is now. > What was your favourite and least favourite subjects in school? My favourite subject was Maths and my least favourite was History!

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THE BELTEL CENTRE On the 6th of December 2006, Lee and Gaby Chick with 2-month-old Christian arrived in Dublin to set up the first Irish Betel Centre for men. Betel of Ireland is a caring, non-profit Christian community dedicated to restoring homeless and long-term unemployed people to healthy independent lifestyles. Gaby spoke at a Mothers Union meeting giving her testimony of the work in Betel. A group of ladies had a fun time when they went to the centre in Shankill to make curtains for a house. They have also been present on the occasion of the baptisms and attended the monthly men’s breakfast on a Saturday. They seeked to encourage the centre in prayer and in a practical way, by supporting their workshops and business, which included house removals and clearances, garden maintenance and landscaping.

KOTG SCHOOL Kill O’ The Grange National School was set up when the parish began. It is in its new building since 2004. The school is managed by a Board of Management which consists of the patron’s nominees, teacher and parent nominees and principal. Our school has changed a lot over the past few years. It started off as a small one-storey building. Then in 1963 it moved to its current site and had 35 pupils. Prefabs began to be added to the small one-storey building in the yard and they took up a lot of space. It was re-opened as a two-storey building with no prefabs in 2004 and had 222 pupils. It was opened by Mary Hanafin TD and archbishop John Neill. Our school is connected to the church beside us (not literally connected) so basically as Rev. Wallace said, we’re a scriptural school. The first teacher John Turkington was employed for over 37 years. Our school was a one-teacher school with accommodation for the teacher provided. After 1863, the next schoolmaster was Mr. Benson and he was followed by more principals. In 1919, Kill Select Vestry was able to employ a second teacher Ms. Smith. She retired in 1932 and the school had to close in 1944. In 1963, the school re-opened. Our current secretary Sandra, went to the old school. She said that it was lovely and bright and had yellow tiles on the floor. It had five classrooms and classes happened in the rectory too.

MUSI-KIDS Musi-kids was set up in the late 1980s by Jean Knight and Gillian Haine Taylor when they saw a gap in the parish for girls and boys between 7 and 12 years of age in the parish. This club met once a week on Wednesdays for an hour for fun. The children put on a show in the parish and it was great. There is still a children’s club in KOTG today.

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KILTERNAN BUILDING OF THE CHURCH By Jamie Kevin McCarthy, Lucy Glynn and Griffith John Healy. > When was the church made? The church was made in 1826 > What does the church look like?

> The Kilternan church was built in 1826. > The church was built to the designs of the famous Dublin architect John Semple. > The church was built by John Richardson. > The land used to make the church was donated by Elizabeth and Susan Anderson. > There are exactly 393 graves in the churchyard.

> Who designed it? The designer is John Semple. John was an Irish architect. Born in 1801 and died the age of 81 in 1882. John Semple has built lots of churches in Ireland such as Monkstown church, Dublin, and St Mary’s chapel of ease, Seaview Terrace Donnybrook and St. Maelruain’s Church Tallaght.

> The oldest graves date back to the 1200s. > All of the stained-glass windows in the church were made in this century. > The oldest stained-glass window in the church was made in the memory of Hugh Stuart Moore. > The Kilternan church parish hold many events such as Messy church, Sunday club and Scouts. By, Navya Kumar (5th class Ms Nolan)

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K

ilternan Church of Ireland church is incredibly old. There’s quite a lot of people who work at KCOINS church like Rob. He is the Reverend and he does messy church and Bryan does it as well and now you might be wondering what’s messy church? Well, it is when quite a lot of people go to the gathering grounds and they can go around and make a bunch of art kind of things and then at the end of the day you get some food from the chef. KCOINS is the only school/church in Ireland to have messy church and the gathering grounds. It’s where some people go to make their confirmation.

GRAVEYARD HISTORY Hello this is Ellie Lambert here with Robyn Ryan and we’re going to tell you about our graveyard that is beside our school. To start off with I will be telling you about when it was first made. In 1826 December 10th Kilternan Church of Ireland’s cemetery was made right beside our church as the graveyard now lies beside and behind the church. On the right side of the graveyard there are stones that show people who were cremated and I will tell you some of them, Wilkie Nell Stuart, Michael Hudson, Derek Turbot, Sadie and jack Lewis, Eric T. Moore, Richard M. Burgess 1915-1998, Valerie P. Burgess 1927-1998, Mary Jane Dormer 1901-1990.

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Our graveyard has a person from World War 1 called Nurse Sophia Violet Barrett. Robyn will be talking about her more. I found one that I could not see the name but they either died in 1831 or 1841. That is all from me enjoy the rest of the graveyard facts but before I go here are some pictures of Sophia Violet Barrett. SOPHIA VIOLET BARRETT Sophia Violet Barrett was born on the 21st of January 1884 in Co. Galway. During WW1 she worked in VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment). She was on a mail ship while she was leaving France after the war to return to Ireland. On her way back, the boat sank from a boat that shot a torpedo at the mail ship. 501 people died on the 10th of October 1918 out of 777 people who were on the ship. (Sophia was one of the people who died). Now she is buried in Killternan Church of Ireland graveyard. stone.

This is her grave

Thank you very much for reading our project!

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Interview

CONNECTIONS L WITH THE SCHOO

unded in of Ireland was fo Kilternan Church before! The s ar 1824 two ye in ol ho sc e th d ed with the 1826 an uniform surround ol ho sc e th on church is ol. of I national scho words Kilternan c mblies in imes have asse et m so ht ig m Before covid we the church. d Mrs Darlington. ol principal is calle ho sc e Th b. Ro d lle s eight classes The priest is ca don. The school ha fants, senior ar Re . rs M is al The vice-princip oldest junior in th from youngest to , fourth class, fif I have named them class, third class nd e co th se y , sa ss we cla y, mbl infants, first e end of each asse can see the th At . ss cla h xt class and si the yard you n you are out in the architect of Lord’s Prayer. Whe . John Semple is ol ho sc e th nd hi 01, designed church be in 1801, born in 18 rn bo s wa d an ch year 1882. the chur and died in the 26 18 in ch ur can either the ch to know stuff you ed ne u yo if ay yw An k my obvious choice as look it up or the the smartest dad because he is person ever.

INTERVIEWS ON THE KCOINS CHURCH Hi I am Roy Radulovic Ryan I am 11 years old and I am your interviewer. Dave is Callum’s dad and I will do a comparison of when Callum’s dad started in Kilternan Church of Ireland NS and when Callum started 35 years later. DAVE (1971) I think I started in 1971 or 1972 in Junior Infants then I left after 4th Class and went to St. Andrews in 1978. At first all the classes, were in the old school hall. The junior classes at one end and senior classes at the other. We had 2 teachers. Then we moved to prefabs. The principal was Miss Sloan who taught me. The other teacher was Mrs Malseed. We used to have summer days out in Brittas Bay. The rector was a lovely man called Mr Fisher who had a little dog called Taffy and drove an Austin A40 car.

CALLUM (2005-2013) I started in 2005 and finished in 2013 and my memories of stuff I did in the church in Christmas plays, Easter plays, and my 6th class graduation more and I also did all my confirmation classes there at age 13 with a very nice rector called David Moynihan who’s now gone to New Zealand who runs a sheep farm there which was great fun with all my friends.

> I asked Mrs. Darlington the principal “How is the school involved with the church?” Mrs. Darlington said “Rob and I work together we invite parish staff to assembly and we would have our carol service and 6th class graduation” > I asked Mrs. Darlington the principal “Do you go to church often?” Mrs. Darlington said “Yes I do with me and my family we consider ourselves to be at Kilternan parish” > I asked Mrs. Darlington “did you grow up in this parish or have you just started to go to the church?” Mrs. Darlington said “I just started to go to the church about 12 years ago”

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INTERVIEW WITH JULIE CLEMENTS 1. How long have you worked in the café for? I have worked in the café for 3 years when it started. 2. Do you enjoy working in the café? I do. I most enjoy meeting lots of different people and making it a friendly place for everyone.

Interview

3. Where did you grow up? In the United States of America. I was born in Alaska but spent most of my youth in Seattle Washington. 4. Do you have any siblings? I have one older brother called Scott 5. What family do you have now? I have my husband and three children. My mom and dad and brother and my sister-in-law and my nephew are still in Washington. 6. When was the café first built? It opened in September of 2018. 7. Do you think people like the café? I do think people like the café. My ambition was for the café to be a place for community, belonging, growth and healing, and I think that is what people experience when they are here.

OLD KILGOBBIN

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8. What did you do before you worked in the café? I worked as a mental health counsellor in community mental health. I also worked in the youth Advocate Programme and in Roslyn Park College. 9. When there’s a new family or person in the parish how do you welcome them? With a smile I look them in the eye and say hello. I try to get to know what their interests are. 10. Do you trust people with the honesty box? I do fully. I think people appreciate being trusted but the main benefit of the honesty box is that it makes the café accessible to everyone. A lot of people put a little extra money in so that if someone is having a bad day, they can have their coffee on us. 11. What is your favourite part of your job? Practically, I like making pretty coffees. However, the best part is when I hear about connections made between people. 12. How many people do you think come daily to the café? On a busy day I would say around 100 people. There were days during covid lockdown when we would only have about 15- 20 people.

> That is so cool, do you know anything about the graves would help us in our project? Well, the first person ever buried is one of your relations Mary Richardson (my name before I got married) one of the daughters of the man who built the church. She was born in December 15th 1826 and was baptized on Christmas Eve when she was only 9 days old; she also had a sister called Mary Richardson who died 9 years before she was born. She also got married to a man called Henry Moss and they had 2 children called Henry William Moss and Edward Richardson Moss. > Wow that is amazing would you mind tell me a bit more about Mary’s father? Of course, John Trimble Richardson was a farmer and a builder. He also built the family vault in Kilgobbin. But John Semple designed the church he also designed the church in Monkstown and St. Marys Chapel of Ease. > Can you please tell me a bit how the parish is so important to you? The parish is important to me because I’ve spent much of my life in Kilternan parish and many of my family have also been part of the parish. I’ve also been lucky to be involved in many activities within, and through, the parish. These include choir, Sunday School (as pupil and teacher!), Girl Guides, table tennis, tennis, Select Vestry and Mothers’ Union. My involvement with Mothers’ Union has led to meeting people all over Ireland and from around the world. Worshipping in a church built by my great-greatgrandfather (my grandfather’s grandfather) is special too. And I often think of the relatives who have worshipped there too over 200 years. We can find out about them but they can never have imagined how the whole area would change from a quiet country parish to a busy suburban community. They might be surprised to see you and some of your relatives at church services and in the parish school. There have been many changes in the parish in my lifetime but perhaps the most exciting has been the new parish building and the Gathering Grounds Café. This has brought many people from around the area together in a wonderful way. I hope that now the parish is not just important to me but to many others.

Interview

INTERVIEWING MY GRANNY MARY WHITE BY ISLA GRAHAM

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CH KILTERNAN CHUR L IONA OF IRELAND NAT SCHOOL

ficially 85, and was of 19 in e ad m as on Wednesday The school w amus De Buitleir Se r. M ol by ed open In 2007 the scho th of December 1985. 11 by the and was blessed was refurbished . Neill Reverend Dr.John

1990s Messy Church was introduced

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2000s The church gained more members and grew

2010s In 2016, Rev. Rob joined the parish In 2018, the Gathering Grounds café was opened

2019s The whole church flooded

Interview

INTERVIEW WITH REV ROB CLEMENTS > Do you enjoy working in the church? I do enjoy working in the church, every day is different. > How do you feel about talking in front of lots of people? It used to make me nervous but now I enjoy it, but I sometimes still get nervous. > How long have you worked in the church? I have worked in this church 5 years now. > How long did you have to study for to get a job in the church? I had to study for four years. I had to study theology. > Have you always wanted to work in the Church? No. When I was younger, I wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to be a journalist because I loved to write about people and things. > Have you always worked in Kilternan? No. Before I worked in Enniskillen but before Enniskillen I worked in Dublin City Centre and before that I worked in Seattle and before Seattle, I worked in Belfast. In Belfast I was a youth worker. > Do you have any siblings? I have 4 half-sisters. > Do you have any children? I have three lovely children. > What job do you have in the church? I am the rector. > Why is the church so important to you? The church is where the family of God gathers together to give thanks. It reminds me that we are stronger together.

> Do you think people like the church? I think people enjoy meeting other people and being able to talk with other people. We all need to talk to people sometimes and Church is a wonderful place to do that. In Church we look out for and help people that are in need or not. > How many church services are there? There are three on a Sunday and one on a Tuesday there is a prayer meeting on Wednesday as well. There are lots of special services like Lent, Christmas and Easter. > Who does all the decorating in the church? We have a flower Rota, people come in and help clean lots of people help with harvest. Everyone does their part. Without the people the Church doesn’t really work. > Which church service is the most popular? Christmas day is the most popular it gets so busy sometimes people must stand. > Is anything you don’t like doing in your job? I don’t like having to spend so much time on my computer. > What is your favorite service? I like the all-age Service with all the kids and families. My family are there and I love when they are there. > Did you ever think of starting another job? Yes, I might move to another Church but not for a while yet there is still so much here. > What is the most important part of the church in your opinion? Meeting to worship together.

> What is your Favorite part of your job? I like speaking in front of people, I like helping people and I like talking to people.

> What do you think is the most important part of the service? I think it is all important. Listening to the Service is important, the communion is important and praying for other people is important because it reminds us that it is not all about us.

> Are you happy with how the church has turned out? Yes, but there’s always room to grow and learn.

> How many days a week do you work? I work six days a week I take Saturday off.

> How big would you say the parish community is now? We have about 340 families now.

> What activities have been held in the church? Everything from weddings to funeral to celebrations and baptisms. The Church holds lots of activities.

> How many people would you say come to the church now but wouldn’t come to church a year ago? I think we have more young families now but I’m not sure how many.

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ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH RAHENY

The Why, the When, the All Saints

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hen and why All Saints’ was built and how it got its name.

All Saints’ Church is the parish church of the Church of Ireland parish of Raheny. It is prominent on the Howth Road as it approaches the centre of Raheny. It lies in walled grounds covered with trees, just south of the village. Now ruined, the church of St. Assam’s is known as the old Protestant church. The church is surrounded by a walled graveyard. The church was a simple structure. It is 16.25m x 7.15m. There was a seating plan for around 116 people. It was built in 1712 and closed in 1899. St. Assam’s initially was one of several churches in larger parochial structures. It became parish church of Raheny when that area grew big enough to need to be an independent parish. In 1881, Arthur Edward Guinness offered to build a new church because the old church, St. Assam’s, was very old. In 1885, the people of the parish agreed and Arthur Edward Guinness gave £9,000 worth of money in the 1880s to help with the construction of the church. The church was completed in 1889. Arthur Edward Guinness named it ‘All Saints’ Church because he was born on the first of November, All Saints’ Day. They service of dedication for the church was delayed from All

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Saints’ day to the 16th December sadly, because of a death in the Guinness family. The idea of a new church was also proposed by Arthur’s father, Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, but the plans didn’t go through. Olivia Hedger-White was born in 1850. She was the daughter of William Henry Hare HedgerWhite, the third Earl of Bantry. She married Arthur Edward Guinness on 16th Feburary 1871. They had no children. She died on the 13th December 1925. She was 75 years old. Lord Ardilaun died on 20th January 1915 at the his home in St. Anne’s. Lord Ardilaun was buried in All Saints’ Church because he sponsored its construction. Lord Ardilaun was an Irish philanthropist.

He was best known for giving St. Stephen’s Green back to the people of Dublin. In the church, there is a small crypt with a mortuary chapel where some of the Guinness family are buried. The crypt has the remains of two members of the Guinness family, Benjamin Lee Guinness, a younger brother of Lord Ardilaun, who died in 1900 and Olive Guinness, who lived from 1801 to 1889. The Guinnesses lived in St. Anne’s. The house was called St. Anne’s after the holy well that sat on site. Of the two brothers, Sir Arthur Edward Guinness was primarily responsible for the expansion and development of the estate and garden. Lord and Lady Ardilaun had no children, so their land passed to their nephew Bishop Plunkett when they died. In the 1920s he sold the land to Dublin Corporation for approximately £55,000. In 1939, he retained Sybil Hill (No. St. Paul’s College) and 30 acres of

parkland as a private residence. Just over 200 acres of the estate was developed for houses. In 1943 the mansion went on fire. The ruins were demolished but the stables survived. St. Anne’s Park Red Stables were designed by the architect George Ashlin. The stables are laid out in a courtyard format. The red stables got their name from the red brick they were made from. They were opened to the public in 2006. The rose garden began in 1970 and it was opened to the public in 1975. Clontarf Horticultural Society and the Parks Department of Dublin Corporation combined efforts to create an international rose garden. Lots of species of roses are grown here including a selection of hybrid tea and floribunda rares. The annual rose festival takes place on the 3rd weekend of July every year.

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The building was designed by George Ashlin and built almost entirely of Irish material. In 1881 Arthur Edward Guinness, Lord Ardilaun, proposed to construct a new church. Over the period of the construction, costs kept rising. It was £5,000, then moved up to £9,000 to eventually make it to £20,000. The furniture is made out of oak from Scandinavia. Ashlin was born in Ireland on 28th May 1837, the son of J. M. Ashlin J.P. He was educated at St. Mary’s College, taught by Edward Welby Pugin whose partner he became in Ireland from 1860 to 1868. Ashlin was the architect of Queenstown Cathedral in Cobh, Co. Cork and of fifty other churches dotted around Ireland. He also built Portrane Asylum at the cost of £300,000. He was a Member of the Royal Hibernian Academy and Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architectural Institute. In 1867 he married Mary Pugin (1844-1933), daughter of Augustus Welby Pugin, the Gothic revivalist.

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From when the church was built the rectors were: • Richard Gibbons (1720 - 1731) • Ralph Cocking (1735 - 1774) • William Shaw (1774 - 1796) • George Stevenson (1796 - 1802) • Thomas Seele (1789) • Latham Caddington (1810) • Richard Graves (1810) • Francis Fox (1814) • George Gore (1821) • Dinuan Long (1823) • Eric Davis (1827 - 1838) • Josiah Crampton (1838 - 1839) • William R. Burton (1864 - 1872) • Arthur E. Guinness (1872 - 1873) • Francis Hayes (1873 - 1918)

THE EXTERIOR OF THE CHURCH

INSIDE THE CHURCH

The building is described as gothic and it has a cruciform shape. The walls are made of granite with limestone dressings. Looking up at the tower you can see a one-ton bell. This bell was given to the church in 1926 in memory of Lady Ardilaun.

In All Saints church Raheny there is an organ. An organ is a musical instrument which blows air out to make a sound. The organ was a gift from Lady Ardilaun in 1919 in memory of her husband Lord Ardilaun. The organ no longer works but it is still in the church. In 2018, an electric organ was installed that plays from behind the old organ.

BISHOP PLUNKET’S GRAVE Next to the church there is a raised stone grave that commemorates Benjamin John Plunket, his wife Dorothea Hester Plunket and her brother Thomas Edmond Butler. When Bishop Plunket died in 1947, he became the last person to have a coffin burial in the grounds of All Saints.

THE GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE The Garden of Remembrance is a special place for people to think about their loved ones. The Garden of Remembrance was built in 2014. It was built because people found it hard to get up and down to the crypt. So they made the Garden of Remembrance instead. The seats and the cross were made in Ballyknockan using stone.

MOTIF A motif is found all over All Saints’ Church inside and outside. A motif is a repeated pattern. The motif in All Saints’ Church looks like small x’s in rows straight and curvy. The motif is found on the arches of the church, around the stained glass windows and on the pews. NAVE There are oil lamps hanging from the ceiling. Electric lighting was placed in the church in 1930, but the oil lamps are still an attractive feature. The pews are made of Riga oak and are similar to the font made by A.P. Sharp. The same firm made the choir stalls, the pulpit, and the steeple. The architect George Ashlin designed the ceramic mosaic floors in the church.

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PULPIT The pulpit, made by A.P. Sharp to the architect’s design, was constructed from solid oak to match the choir stands and the doors of the church. The carved figures represent the four writers of the Gospel of St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. STAINED GLASS There are many stained glass windows in All Saints’ Church. The great east window of the church tells the nativity story of Christ with Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the three wise men. This was the only stained glass window in the church when it first opened. On the southside

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of the chapel are three small windows in memory of various members of Lady Ardilaun’s family. The great west window illustrates teaching from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5 to 7. This window dates from 1900. You can imagine how colourful All Saints’ Church is! THE FONT The baptismal font is made of the finest marble and it is part of the original church. The marble and alabaster font was made by A.P. Sharp of Great Brunswick St Dublin (now Pearse St). It has an oak cover with ornamental brass work. Despite the weight of it, it can be easily lifted.

CRYPT AND COLUMBARIUM From the church exterior beside the mortuary chapel you can see the steps leading down to the crypt. The crypt is where lie the remains of Benjamin Lee Guinness, who was a younger brother of Lord Aridlaun, who died in 1900, and Olive Guinness, who died 11 years earlier in 1889. However, even though so many features of All Saints commemorate Lord and Lady Ardilaun and their relatives, it is also a place of memory for local people who have attended the church over the last century and more. In 1988 a columbarium was built in the crypt. This provides niches for cremation urns and over the three decades many past members of the congregation have been laid to rest here with marble slabs showing their names. The columbarium continues to be in use.

CHURCH ACTIVITIES Table Tennis - the table tennis club is on every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm in All Saints hall. The table tennis club does not enter the church league. The club is happy to play for fun. The club has an annual Christmas dinner which is usually held in January. Car Boot Sale - car boot sales are when people bring stuff they want to sell in their car boot and the entry fee for each car is €20 and that money goes towards funding the parish. At car boot sales you can buy random things for a cheap price. Car boot sales started as a fundraiser to fix the church roof. Strawberry Fair - the strawberry fair is when there is a fair in the church grounds with games to win prizes, snail race, tea and coffee and a few car boot sales. The fair happens once a year. Yes, there are free strawberries!

JAM Club is on every Sunday at 10am. Kids do lots of nice activities. The kids go out when the church service is on. They even do clay animations of a story from the Bible. Messy Church - is a way of offering worship for families and others. It is Christ-centred for all ages based on creativity, hospitality and celebration. All Saints’ hosts messy church once a term during the school calendar. You can expect a warm welcome, 45 minutes of different hands-on activities with a Bible theme, a short celebration with story, songs and prayer, a two-course meal with everyone. Due to Covid-19 Messy Church was put on hold for a while but returned on 26th September 2021. Youth Club - All Saints’ Church has a youth club for young people aged 12 - 14 years. The youth club meets once a month either in All Saints’ Church or at other venues. The youth club is run by parent volunteers who have been vetted and trained under the Church of Ireland’s Safeguarding Trust policies.

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EAM

MEET THE T

uch as reat team s g a ve a h e re lucky s’ Church w staff. We a ly ve lo re At All Saint o an ym Rector Norm t on and man u n o a b C a r, o it t b c e the R e grew up Here is a r 8 years. H lovely staff. fo y is n h e t h a ve R a h to en rector in . He has be d n la s u a C c M t in 1989. of the came a pries e b e H . her members e t n o w fe a in Tyro re a eil, ce manager Seamus Purs ffi o ry a h t s re ri c a e p s d rthur lect Vestry A Canon an e Warden A few more: Se b a le G re , a ry re e e ft H church. arden Pamela Ra n, Church W ry Treasurer a t g s ie Ve M t h c g le a e S Oon wler. be Warden Sheelagh Fo n e Mason, Gle rd a W h m, Churc Ciara Graha

INTERVIEWING THE RECTOR NORMAN MCCAUSLAND:

Interview

Q1. Is the church decaying at all? A: Like all old buildings, the church is decaying. The church is built using sandstone, which is soft and tends to decay and crumble. As well as that the weather makes the church decay and it needs constant maintenance.

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Q2. Are you getting anything new in the church? A: Due to Covid-19 the church has had to modernise to work. While the parishioners couldn’t come into church they made videos to watch at home. Now that they are back in the church they are getting stuff like LED screens, better lighting and a new projector. Q3. What’s the oldest thing on the church grounds? A: The oldest thing on the church grounds is an old well which was there before the church was built which is before 1889. Q4. What’s the most people you can fit in the church (ignoring Covid-19)? A: You can fit 140 people in the church and 120 people comfortably and right now only 50 people.

INTERVIEWING LIBERTY FINNEGAN, THE PARISH ADMINISTRATOR:

Q1. How does your role impact the church? A: My role includes communication to the parishioners, this was especially important during the lock-down as the church was closed. I’ve been able to assist the Select Vestry with their roles and as PA to Norman I assist him with files, paperwork, etc. so that he can focus on the more important jobs. Q2. What events or activities do you organise? A: Norman and I work on various events together. This summer we did two joint outdoor services with St. John’s in Coolock. I have been in the past involved in the Strawberry Fair that is held in the rectory field, Messy Church which is run by the JAM Club, JAM Club, All Saints Sunday School. Q3. What work goes into organising events and activities? A: It depends on the event. Some events can take a lot of time and work while others can be quick to organise. Most events start with looking for vounteers to help, holding a meeting with the volunteers to discuss the different roles needed and making an action plan as to how we will organise the event.

SPRINGDALE NATIONAL SCHOOL Springdale NS holds their Sports Day every year on the All Saints church grounds. The church grounds has a big green area which allows us to do lots of fun activities such as: running races against our classmates and sack races. We also do other games. Graduation – Our school 6th class graduation is held in All Saints’ Church Raheny every year. The senior end of the school, teachers and parents all attend the service. At the graduation we sing songs and some people have prayers, share memories and give speeches. Carol Service – every year we go down to the church for our Carol Service. Some parents also attend the Carol Service. We sing songs such as Silent Night, Over the Hills and Over the Valleys and You Shall go out with Joy at the service. We also have prayers. It really feels like Christmas after our Carol Service in All Saints’ Church.

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Skerries

Holmpatrick Church y, Davis, Freya Dorrit ley, ew th at M l, el nn w Co Niamh n Howley, Jack Ho Be a, Jonah Brannigan, nn va io G rla Watt Galbraith, Ca O’Keeffe, Pippa Lucy Farrell, Juliet on ps m ho T ia M Sam Lynch,

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T

he new Holmpatrick Church was designed by James Edward Rogers (1838-1896) and made of limestone from Milverton Quarries. Rogers gave up his architectural practice and devoted the rest of his life to painting and book illustration. Skerries is very lucky that Holmpatrick Church was built before Rogers retired. Holmpatrick church is situated in the centre of Skerries, a small coastal town 27km north of Dublin. Did you know that the prefix ‘Holm’ in Holmpatrick means harbour? It comes from an old Danish word that means harbour.

Bronze Age Mound

the nave

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he church was built in 1867 and it replaced the old church. The old church was situated on elevated ground within a cemetery in Skerries and the tower is all that remains of the old parish church. The old church was torn down to make room for a new church. They left the old church tower as a landmark to steer to for ships. On the sides of the tower there are two very old graves cemented on. One has the name of one of the last the abbots of the monastery. The other is the Delahide Stone to members of the Delahide family who owned Loughshinny until the time of Cromwell.

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H

olmpatrick Church of Ireland sits on the grounds of a monastery that was built in 1220. Before that date, the monastery was located on Church Island. That is known today as St. Patrick’s Island, just off the coast of Skerries. A very important Synod was held on Church Island in 1118. It was summoned by St. Malachy the archbishop of Armagh to settle differences between the Irish Christian Church and the Pope. This was done with the permission of Henry de Londes the archbishop of Dublin, following a request by the monks.

Slowly, the town of Skerries grew around the monastery. During the Reformation of the 1500s the Monastery was dissolved, and a Protestant Church took its place. The church built in 1867 is in the Gothic style. It has a graceful tower and octagon spire. The church has some interesting stained glass windows especially on the balcony. When the new church was built some of the tablets from the old church were moved to it. There is a plaque on the wall about a man named James Hamilton. He had 36 children. He died on 20th October 1800. He was 73 years old when he died. The material the plaque is made of is limestone from Milverton Quarries.

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Holmpatrick spire and tower of Old Monastery 83

Blessed are the pure in heart for This window is erected in loving memory of Katherine Margaret Woods of Milverton Hall who departed this life 16th march 1894.

Kybe Pond and view of Holmpatrick Church

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they shall see God

This east window is in memory of George Woods of Milverton Hall who died 6th september 1876 aged 90 years and of his son, Hans Hamilton Woods of Whitestown House who died 12th june 1879 aged 64 years. It was erected by Louisa C. Woods

Flooded road Holmpatrick Church

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The clergy of Holmpatrick Church are Rev. Anthony Kelly and Rev. Tom O’Brien. The church has a Sunday service at 10.30am. During COVID the service was online shared with Balbriggan and Kenure.

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WHITECHURCH PARISH AND NATIONAL SCHOOL THE SCHOOL TOUR th

On 5 May 2021, the 5th class of visited Whitechurch Parish Church. The day before they went on the tour the class wrote down lots of questions they could ask Canon McKinley. The next day they all went to school and in the morning they walked up to the church. When they all got there, they went inside and Canon McKinley talked about the features of the church. After that they got to ask some interesting questions for their project. After everyone asked their questions, Canon McKinley brought each group upstairs to show them all the features and sounds of the organ. Everyone got to walk around to see the main part of the church. Whitecurch church is filled with interesting things such as the brass eagle, the stained glass windows, the organs, the doves and the baptismal font. Then they went outside to the graveyard and Canon McKinley told them about their family stories.

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HISTORY OF THE PARISH Whitechurch parish dates all the way back to the 12th century, which means it is 900 years old! In the 12th century, Whitechurch was under the oversight of St. Mary’s Abbey. Today, the remains of the old Whitechurch church is about a half a mile down the road from the new church. The old church was called Kilhunsin or the White Church. There are only three gable walls still standing. The church has two chambers, the nave and the chancel. The old church has been a ruin since the 18th century. At the old church there are two decorated and ultra-rare slab crosses found, probably dating from the 10th or 11th century. You can have a look at the old church through a small path and gate on the Whitechurch Road. The gate is locked by Dublin City Council so it is not easy to visit. The graveyard at the old church is around 300 years old. There are a variety of stone headstones and cast iron grave markers in the graveyard that show it was a burial place for various middle class Dublin people from the city centre in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1823, the Vicar of Whitechurch at the time Rev. Lundy Foot, secured the support of La Touche, the landowner of Marlay Park, for his plans to build a new church and school to serve the parish. Two years later, La Touche granted some of the land from the Marlay

Estate as the site for the new church. The site, where the church was built, had already been used for burials by the La Touche family.

professional advice, there was no choice but to rebuild the entire wall. This project was finished in 2010.

The church is 197 years old. The church was consecrated for public worship by archbishop William Magee in 1827. In 1820 the church cost £1800 but in today’s money it would cost £178,454! The church style is Romanesque. The church is facing east directly to Jerusalem. Stables were built on the grounds of the new church too. These were used to stable horses or ponies that people used to get to church.

The pulpit is made from Portland stone and has four ornate decorate panels.

The architect John Semple (who designed several churches in Dublin) was very smart because he put limestone at the back of the church and in the damp places because limestone absorbs the damp. The church has never been damp in 197 years. The exterior of the church is made of expensive granite. Some of the many interesting features of Whitechurch include the slender, graceful spire, the tall, thin lancet windows and very large internal thrust arches. The church has a middle row of seats unlike most churches. The left side seats are used for weddings and the right side is used for funerals.

There are two organs, the old organ and the newer organ which is called the great organ. There is also a pretty cool upright electric piano. The older organ was constructed in 1882 by William Browne & Co. In 1966 the organ was renovated in memory of Jack Martin (RAF Bomber Command). A memorable organised who played this organ was Miss Gwendoline Argue, who travelled by bus from Clontarf to play the organ every Sunday and was never, ever late. The old organ broke down so the church got a new organ but kept the old one at the back of the church. The new organ is on a balcony at the front of the church. The talented Jon Dexter plays it. This organ is very large and tall and has beautifully colourful pipes. The upright electric Roland piano is kept beside the old organ.

There is a leather cord running from the bottom of the church to the steeple to prevent lightning damage.

THE PULPIT

The eagle at the front of the church is made out of brass and symoblises St. John.

In 1952 and 1968 the church had massive repairs. In 2002 and 2003 the whole church was re-roofed, the gutters were replaced and pointing was replaced on the tower and spire. The bell headstock was also renewed. An internal restoration took place in 2006. In 2008 part of the church boundary wall actually collapsed on to the Whitechurch Road. Following

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THE FOUR DOVES

WHITECHURCH BAPTISMAL FONT

In the Whitechurch church there are 4 hidden doves that symbolise peace and represent the Holy Spirit. Three of the doves are hidden on the top of pillars at the front of the church and the other one is on a sign on the left.

The font is used for baptismal ceremonies. In Whitechurch church the Portland Baptism Bowl is in front of the altar. It has a hole in the middle where the water from the baptism goes back down into the soil. This font is beautiful and has three colours of marble at the bottom. There is green from Connemara representing the resurrection, black from Kilkenny representing death and red from Donegal representing the blood of Jesus Christ.

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS The first stained glass window was made in 1900. The red wings on the first stained glass window was a symbol of the Holy Spirit. One stained glass window was made by Joshua Clarke to commemorate parishioners who died in World War 1.

MOTHERS’ UNION BANNER The Mothers’ Union banner behind the Reading Desk was presented in 1992 in memory of Daphne Handy, wife of Canon Maurice Handy, the rector of Whitechurch from 1941 to 1965.

ALTAR PANELLING The oak Reredos panelling behind the altar was installed in 1947 replacing the tiles that had been there previously. More panelling was added along the northern and southern walls in 1960.

LIFE EVENTS IN THE PARISH Baptisms are on the first and third Sundays of the month and there is preparation for the event. Confirmation is taken by the archbishop and happens in the church each year following a 12 week preparation course. Any adults who were not confirmed earlier in life may be confirmed also and just need to contact the Rector about this. Marriage: the church must be booked before the hotel. The rector provides a brochure for the couple outlining both statutory and ecclesiastical procedures and preparation required. Burials: only parishioners or family members of the parish are able to be buried in the graveyard or cremation plots. Advance booking of plots is not allowed. Ordination vocation: any person who has an interest in ordained ministry is very welcome to contact the Rector about this. Here are some of the people who work in the parish and look after the church: > Jon Dexter is the organist and plays at services on the church’s newest organ.

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> Reg Richards is the groundskeeper. He is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the church and grounds. This includes the excellent and tidy gardening done at the entrance to the church. Reg Richards is Ms. Richards’ uncle! > Canon McKinley is the longest-serving rector in the Church of Ireland. He was born in Co. Tipperary and became a priest in 1971 aged 24, and still serves in the parish to this day! He has served the parish of Whitechurch for over 40 years. The children interviewed Canon McKinley. He told them that he was baptised by his father, who was also a priest in Tipperary. His mother was a National School teacher. Canon McKinley has worked in Dublin and in Canada. He also visited Rwanda with a team of people to bring food, clothes, money and other things to help the poor. Canon McKinley’s favourite sports are GAA, rugby and football.

The La Touche Family tomb is in the Whitechurch graveyard. It is the only tomb that is not fully sealed over. The La Touche family is buried in a tomb underground in the Whitechurch graveyard. Elizabeth La Touche was buried in Whitechurch when she died in 1805 and her husband David La Touche was buried there too in 1817 at the age of 87. Annie Smithson is buried in the Whitechurch graveyard. She was born in Sandymount. She trained to be a nurse. She became a member of Cumann na mBan and was on the Republican side in the Civil War. She campaigned about child welfare and poverty and wrote articles for the Evening Mail. She was the Secretary and Organiser of the Irish Nurses Organisation from 1929 until 1942. She wrote 20 novels and two books of short stories. The Hughes Brothers were buried in Whitechurch graveyard. They were the makers of H.B. Ice-cream which is still made today by Unilever.

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The Moravian Cemetery in Whitechurch was bought in 1764 for the Moravian community in Dublin at Bishop Street. The Moravians could be called the first Protestant group going back to 1457. They lived in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. They looked to the Sermon on the Mount for rules that they would obey. The Irish Moravian Congregation was closed in 1980 due to lack of numbers. In the Moravian Cemetery, the boys were buried on one side of the path and the girls were buried on the other side. All the graves lie flat, level with the ground. There are 760 graves in the Moravian Cemetery. Most of the graves are so old that the writing is faded. There are only two graves that are completely clear but some of the graves you can mostly see. The oldest grave is from 1764 (John Tellschig) and the most recent one was from 2018 (Harry Latrioll). Brian Boydel who was a musician, is buried in the Moravian Cemetery and so are members of the Boydel family. No animals are buried in the graveyard but there is a fox den over by the wall. The plot of land on which Whitechurch vicarage now stands was bought from the Moravian Congregation.

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WHITECHURCH NATIONAL SCHOOL In 1823 Whitechurch School was established in the grounds of the new church. It was called the Whitechurch Free School and it was open from 10am to 3pm Monday - Friday. Roman Catholic and Protestant children attended the school except on Saturdays when there were religion lessons for the Protestant children from 10am - 1pm. John La Touche gave land for the Free School. The Kildare Place Society gave a grant of £100 and the Lord Lieutenant gave £150 for the building of the school. There was a fireplace at each end of the school and the children collected sticks on their way to school to keep the fires lit. Boys went in one door and girls went in the other door. The youngest children used slates to write and the older pupils used ink and quills to write their school work. The stable block was also used for Sunday school in the 1980s. It was always freezing. There were no indoor toilets in the old school building or in the stable block. The old school was closed in June 1967 because there were only 4 pupils. The population of Whitechurch grew in the 1970s and the parish did surveys in 1976 to prove that a primary school was needed again in

Whitechurch. The National School re-opened in 1978 in the old school building and the old stable block as well as using the old furniture like desks to start. In 1990, the new Whitechurch National School was built on a new site with a new building across the road from the church. Two extensions were built to the school, one in 2007 and one in 2016 because Whitechurch National School keeps growing. The old school building was rebuilt and extended in 1999 is now used as the parish centre.

THE TEACHERS’ RESIDENCE In 1823 the teachers’ residence was built so teachers could live close to the school. In 1908 it was noticed that the front bedrooms were in poor condition lacking ventilation and light. In 1910 windows were put into the building. It cost £51.10. In 1928, it needed more repairs which cost £83.10. Then in April 1940 some of the roof caved in. It cost more money to have that fixed. The Select Vestry made the decision to renovate the residence and to use it as a house for the church sexton. In 1999 the residence was renovated yet again as part of the Old School Renovation and Extension project. Nowadays Mr. Reg Richards lives there.

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SCHOOL CHURCH LINKS May Fete: happens on the Saturday after the May bank holiday. Everyone donates clothes and items that they do not need and bakes things. Then everyone comes to the school and starts buying things. In the hall there are raffles and games. On the basketball court there are outside games. The May Fete has been happening since 1980. The May Fete only started to raise money to build the new school but they have been happening ever since. Pantomimes (1823 - 1969): the first pantomines were when the pupils would take part in performing a play for the parents and parishioners at Christmas time. In the 1950s and 1960s Kitty Guinness wrote the plays for members of the parish and the children to star in.

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Assemblies: from 1980 - 1988 assembly took place in the old school building, not the stable block. The room was divided in half by a curtain and they had it in one of the divided parts. They sang a hymn and said prayers. They would stand in a circle on Friday and Canon McKinley would join them. One time a baby mouse joined them! Assemblies today: in Covid 19 we have our assemblies online. Before the pandemic, we did our assemblies in the hall. Sports Days: the first few Sports’ Days were held in Canon McKinley’s garden. There were five teams - green, red, blue, yellow and white. Then the school moved Sports’ Day to Marlay Park for a few years. When the school moved to the new site they did Sports Day at Three Rock Rovers for a year or two. Nowadays sports day is held in St. Columba’s College.

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Acknowledgements This book is the culmination of a project that involved 10  primary school principals, 13 teachers and a few hundred children from 3rd class to 6th class. It has also involved clergy, laity, youth workers and others associated with the 9 parishes in which those schools are located. Furthermore, it involved the staff from the Diocesan Office as well as the staff of Christ Church Cathedral where the exhibition took place. It has been the most positive project that I have ever had the good fortune to lead because everyone involved embraced the opportunities for learning and for engaging that it provided at a time when we had all found our lives curtailed and our horizons reduced by Covid. The content of this book is a tribute to the imaginations and creativity of all the children involved, of the guidance and educational excellence of their teachers and of the vision of their principals to encourage and support their participation. It was all the more special for me as a teacher educator that 8 of the participating teachers are my own graduates. I particularly want to express thanks to each of the 10 schools, their principals, the school secretaries, the 13 class teachers and all the participating children in Athy Model School, Castleknock National School, Drumcondra National School, Holmpatrick National School Skerries, Kill O’ the Grange National School, Kilternan National School, St.  George’s National School Balbriggan, St. Matthew’s National School Irishtown, Springdale National School Raheny and Whitechurch National School. They are the authors of this book. I want to thank all those who made photographs available to us. Some of the schools could not access the interior of their local church during their project due to Covid. Copious thanks are due to Rev. Garth Bunting, Lesley Cahill, Robert Cashel, Lynn Glanville, Claire Gogarty, Philip Good, Dorothy Hyland, Stuart

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Kinsella, Canon Horace McKinley and Deryck Vincent who all provided their own photographs of the interiors of churches, of areas connected with the parish including old ruins and of artefacts inside or outside particular churches. Very special thanks are due to Douglas Appleyard for his material on St. John the Evangelist in Coolock; Stuart Kinsella for his material on Christ Church Cathedral; Ken McAllister for his material on St. Doulagh’s Church; and Ven. David Pierpoint for his material on St. Michan’s Church. A project on this scale is only possible with financial and professional supports. The project team expresses its gratitude to All Churches Trust, the Church Education Society and the Church of Ireland Centre, DCU Advisory Council for generous grants to support the projects, the schools, the exhibition and this publication. The project team is also very grateful to the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough Diocesan Office staff and to the staff of Christ Church Cathedral. Special thanks are also due to Jennifer Byrne and to Dr. Tony Walsh of the Centre for Studies in Irish Protestantism. I wish to acknowledge Alex Cashin, Harry Lawlor, Georgia Lawlor and Kim Woolfson who rolled up their sleeves to populate 18msq of display boards to present the children’s work for the exhibition. I appreciate the support of my CIC colleagues Jacqui Wilkinson and Geraldine O’Connor and that of the Executive Dean of the DCU Institute of Education Prof. Anne Looney. Finally, I am especially grateful to Archbishop Michael Jackson and Dean Dermot Dunne, my fellow members of the Living Faith Living History project team. Living Faith Living History is a joint project of the Church of Ireland Centre DCU, the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and Christ Church Cathedral. Rev. Prof. Anne Lodge, Director of the Church of Ireland Centre, DCU / Priest Scholar Christ Church Cathedral

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Publisher: Dr Claude-Bernard Costecalde Editors: Anne Lodge and Michael Jackson Design & Layout: Sylvie Tusinski Photoengraving: Eric Herr © 2022 - Texts and visuals [children’s images & photographs]: The Church of Ireland © 2022 - Design: Cadolux® Ltd All rights reserved - DCU-COI

Church Education Society for Ireland