From the archives: 1904 celebrations to mark Mayo church's rededication

By Tom Gillespie

IN April 1904 celebrations took place to mark the dedication of Christ Church in Castlebar after a major refurbishing project.

The work was spearheaded by Canon Taylor who fundraised to have urgent repairs carried out to the church.

The Connaught Telegraph devoted the entire of page one to report on the dedication ceremonies.

The report stated:

In the past three years, the rector and parishioners of the Parish Church of Castlebar have been labouring to complete the improvements to the interior of the building, which had been already partially carried out.

Those who remember the barrack-like structure in which the Sunday services were held, 10 years ago (1894) or less, would have been surprised at the building of 1902.

On the first series of improvements, over £1,000 was spent and on the latter improvement about £980.

The history of the earlier efforts has been dealt with before; it, is, therefore, the history of the latter changes with which we propose to deal in the present article.

The success which has attended the efforts to renovate the church is, first, largely due to the untiring efforts of the rector, Canon Taylor, who from the commencement of his ministry has thrown his whole heart into the work.

Shortly after he became rector of the parish of Castlebar, he began collecting for the improvements of the church, and as the years passed on, his collection grew and increased, and some seven years ago (1897) the first renovation of the church was begun and carried to a successful issue.

The rector then, as it were, took breath before he began his labours afresh.

Among what was wanted was adequate heating, proper bell, a tiled aisle transept and an organ.

Such was the task which Canon Taylor set before himself, and such the task which he has now achieved, in a short space of two years, to a triumphant issue.

Let us now, with this brief prefatory notice, come to the history of the carrying out of the task.

Heating apparatus were necessary, as the old stoves were quite worn out. Estimates were obtained, and finally Messers Musgrave’s (Belfast) patent apparatus for heating buildings with hot water was adopted and successfully erected, and has been an immense success.

The next item towards which his energies were directed was the erection of a suitable bell to supersede the tiny instrument which was at that time erected in the church, when, after consultations with experts in various places, Canon Taylor decided to place the contract with Messers. Byrne, of Dublin, who carried out the order given to them with great care, and turned out a bell of 15 cwt, with a beautifully true and rich tone.

This, with the apparatus for ringing it - wheel and frame, etc., - were duly erected in the church tower in October 1902. In the erection of the bell, Mr. Carter (manager of the gasworks) gave invaluable assistance; indeed, at all those times - and there were many - where skilled labour, a trained hand and eye and a clever head were required, Mr. Carter stood at the Canon’s right hand, and spared himself neither time nor trouble in his efforts to have everything successfully completed.

Next came the tiling. Again the task was boldly attacked; and in a wonderful short space of time the work was completed. It was as though an enchanter’s hand passed over the church from time to time, at each rising leaving it more beautiful and richer than before.

Now two great tasks faced the tireless labourer - the erection of an organ and the erection of the east window.

These two items involved an expenditure of over £600. To attain the former, a great bazaar was organised, in which everyone in the parish cooperated, and which, thanks to the help of friends from all parts, was a brilliant success - no less than £367 being realised.

For the window - who shall say how the money was collected for no appeals were issued, but the little bird which tells so many tales of good people has whispered that the greatest portion of the large sum necessary for the erection of the beautiful window has been defrayed out of Canon Taylor’s private purse.

If this is indeed so, then the parishioners owe him a great debt of gratitude not easily repaid.

Again the enchanter’s wand is passed over the church, and, hey, presto! A beautiful window gleams in its glories of red and gold and purple in the east, over the sanctuary; and a magnificent organ - of which more anon - fills the western transept.

But the magician is not yet done: for the glory of the sanctuary a Holy Table, with its glorious frontal of crimson velvet, covered with rich designs in cunning needlework; its superfrontal, also in crimson velvet, adorned with a deep fringe of threads of the same colour intertwined with gold; and, to worthily hold the elements of the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, a silver chalice, paten, and flagon are provided; and on the credence table rest the silver alms dishes.

Truly, the magician who can carry out these marvellous changes is a wondrous being. We are told that his name is Love - Love of God - Love of our Holy Church - the place where God’s honour dwelleth - and so long as this mighty spirit animates the souls and hearts of our people in this country, so long will the Houses dedicated and consecrated to the great King be, year after year, made more worthy and more fit to be, if even in a humble way, the home of Him Who hath his dwelling so high - yet hath respect unto the lowly.

DEDICATION CEREMONY

In what was considered historic, The Connaught Telegraph devoted the entire of page one to report on the dedication ceremonies.

The report stated:

On Wednesday, April 6, 1904, solemn services were held in the church, at which the various offerings were dedicated to the service of God.

The Most Rev. the Lord Bishop of Meath, in the unavoidable absence of the Lord Bishop of Tuam, performed the dedicatory acts and read prayers.

There were 17 clergy present from the various parishes around, and the church was well filled with visitors from far and near, who had come to help and to rejoice with the parishioners in the completion of their labours.

The clergy walked in procession up the aisle while the choir sang, unaccompanied. After the Gloria and before the Venite, the organ was formally opened and the dedicatory prayers read. Before the Jubilate, the window was unveiled and dedicated; and before the offertory the Holy Table was solemnly dedicated to the service of God. The sermon was preached by the Lord Bishop of Meath.

After the morning service, those who had come over to attend the ceremonies from far, and those who were assisting the church choir, were entertained at a luncheon provided by some ladies of the parish, ably assisted by Mr. Reid, of the Imperial Hotel, whose labours to make this portion of the programme also a success were invaluable.

Besides providing free all the cutlery, plates, linen, glasses, etc., necessary to provide luncheon for 50 people, Mr. Reid afterwards made and provided for the tea for 120 more in the afternoon, which in itself was no light task; and this, too, was done at a time when his hotel was full and all this staff of servants busily engaged, so that this work had to be carried out mainly by himself personally.

Mr. Reid is comparatively a newcomer to Castlebar, but already he has commanded himself so much to the parishioners that on Easter Monday he was unanimously elected a select vestryman; and it is to be hoped that he may be long among us to give us his energetic help and advice.

In addition to the 50 provided for by Mr. Reid, about 60 more visitors sat down to luncheon, making a grand total of 110, and the task of catering for the great number was no light one.

Thanks, however, to the energies of the ladies of the parish, who all cooperated most heartily, and to outside friends who also contributed, a most appetising luncheon was provided.

We can openly say that if any of our friends went away hungry, it was their own fault.

After the luncheon, an organ recital was given by the Rev. James Armstrong, M.A., of Castlerock, who very kindly came over to preside at the organ after the opening ceremony; indeed, we may say that the organ is, in its way, Canon Armstrong’s child: he was the mind that devised the beautiful variation of stops; and his grand and unrivalled knowledge of the instrument enabled the parishioners to get from the builders of the organ which for its size, is, we should say, unsurpassed among the organs of country churches in Ireland for variety of tone and completeness and beauty to finish. Messers. Connacher, the builders, are to be congratulated on having cooperated so readily with the designer in giving the greatest care to carry out all his wishes.

While writing on the subject, we may give a short description of the organ, which will be of interest to musical readers.

It is a two manual organ in a plain oak case with carved panels, the front being Messers. Connacher’s patent aluminium plated pipes, which have a beautiful silvery appearance, which blends artistically with the soft shade of the oak.

The organ recital began a little after three, and lasted until four. The programme was carried in the organist’s head, as he played entirely without music. It included Beethoven’s Adagio Pastorale, Chopin’s 14th nocturne, Bach’s organ fugue, Sir Robert Stewart’s arrangement of a little Portuguese melody with a curiously beautiful iterated ending, that gave the notes such a passionate intensity that you coupled fancy you heard the sobbing of the sad heart whose grief found expression through the music; many other melodies - some original compositions, others of well-known composers - were all touched by the flame of his musical soul, and the meaning of the composer shown to the listeners in a way it had not been before.

With a sigh the audience heard the last notes die away; and then after a slight pause, the full chords of our grand old national anthem rang through the church, and, with the thunderous accompaniment of the organ, the whole congregation swung to their feet, and with unmistakable and loyal fervour sang ‘God Save the King’.

After the recital, tea was provided for the visitors in the Parochial Hall, 120 being catered for. It speaks well for the perfection of the arrangements and the thoughtfulness and energy with which the ladies of the parish entered into the spirit of the day and not a hitch occurred at either luncheon or tea, and everyone seemed pleased, and, to judge by their facial and vocal expressions, to have had what might be called a good time.

Mr. Reid again at tea time proved a tower of strength. After tea, back once more to the church for Evensong, which was again fully choral with anthems.

And thus a busy day was brought and successfully to a close.

Thanks are particularly due to those ladies who so generously helped, both by contribution and personal service, to make the day a success - Mrs. Browne, of Breaffy; Mrs. Brown, of Rahins; Mrs. Knox, Mrs. Fitzgerald, Mrs. O’Donel, Mrs. H. Fitzgerald, of Turlough; Mrs. Raven, Mrs. Townsend-Gahan, Mrs. Moroney, and Mrs. S. Moroney. Mrs. Maginn was unavoidably absent, and her ever ready help and cheerful spirit were much missed; but we know that, if absent bodily, she was among us in her thoughts, and, had circumstances permitted it, would fain have been in the thick of the work. Mrs. Maginn very kindly lent cutlery and place for luncheon, as also did Mr. Kilkelly.

Christ Church is one of the oldest buildings in Castlebar, dating back to 1739.