Ancient stone cross returns to its place of glory on historic Mayo church

Work is completed on reinstating an ancient stone cross at Christ Church, Castlebar.

The project at one of the town’s oldest buildings, dating back to 1739 when its first foundation stone was laid, has taken a number a number of months.

The north-facing cross was removed more than a decade ago when it was deemed to be unsafe, the matter first brought to the attention of the church by local developer the late Tony McHugh.

Since its removal, the cross had been carefully preserved in storage with the intention of putting it back on its apex, overlooking the Mall, at an appropriate time.

On foot of an architect’s survey conducted a number of months ago, a decision was made by the church’s select vestry to proceed with the work.

Scaffolding was put in place by Noel Barrett to facilitate the project which has involved creating a new mount for the cross.

Trevor Ardill, secretary of the select vestry, stated: “After giving the matter long and serious consideration, we reached a decision last April to proceed, with the necessary provisions made in respect of costs and so forth.

“As the stone cross was part of the church when it was first constructed, it is only fitting that it is returned to where it belongs.”

Many people living in Castlebar may not have noticed that this historic feature had disappeared from the town’s landscape 12 years ago.

However, its return to its former glory is certainly a cause for due acknowledgement and celebration.

The works were carried out by builders Michael Moran senior and junior, with stonemason Jimmy Burke, and supervision by diocese architect Vincent Coleman and Robert Carson.

A generous donation was made by a local benefactor to help defray the costs.

Including in the work was a lightening protection system while pointing and resetting of capstones was also carried out.

A number of renovation projects have been carried out on the church over the years, the most recent of which was the cleaning of the south-facing clock in July 2020 while in 2001 the pitch slate roofs were replaced with ridge tiles.

The clock is being maintained to this day by Ivan Browne.

The first ever renovations were conducted in the early 1800s following a fire.

The church is directly situated across from the original Bingham residence, linked by a path that runs through the Mall.

According to local historians, this path was a private, tree-lined walk for the Lucan family to attend their services.

The Mall was known then as The Green.

Much has been written about the historic building over the years.

The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage has described it as ‘representing an important component of the early nineteenth-century ecclesiastical heritage of County Mayo with the architectural value of the composition’.

Locals and visitors can explore the history of Castlebar town from 1590 to 1914 through numerous commemorative plaques in the church while the adjoining graveyard is also very rich in historical value.