Tomorrow morning the Archbishop of Dublin will preside at a service to celebrate 150 years of St John the Baptist’s Church, Clontarf, where the preacher will be the Archbishop of Armagh, and on Tuesday the Bishop of Cork will preach at a service to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the consecration of St Lappan’s Church, Little Island.
Clontarf is an ancient foundation and in the Middle Ages the parish belonged to the Hospitallers of Kilmainham. A new church was built in 1609 dedicated to St John the Baptist but with the onset of suburban growth in the 19th century it became too small. A plot of ground on what is now Seafield Road was provided by John Vernon and a new church was built. It was consecrated on May 14th, 1866 and the Archbishop of Dublin, John Henry Bernard preached in the morning and Canon FW Mervyn, a former rector, preached in the evening. The present incumbent is the Rev. Lesley Robinson.
The building of St Lappan’s Church was part of an extensive church-building programme in Cork, Cloyne & Ross which was driven by John Gregg who had been appointed bishop in 1862. A leading member of the evangelical movement, Gregg was, on his appointment to Cork, the first Irish-speaking bishop since the famed Bishop Bedell of Kilmore. In his charge, in 1867, Gregg observed that in a little more than five years nine churches had been built, three were in the course of building, and 30 had been improved. Today St Lappan’s is part of the Cobh and Glanmire group of parishes where the Rev. Adrian Moran is the priest- in-charge.
This evening in St Coman's Church, Roscommon, the Sperrin Choir will present The Magic of the Musicals in aid of the church restoration fund and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Tomorrow the annual Pentecost Ecumenical Service will be held in St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen. The service will be led by the Bishops of Clogher, The Rt Rev. John McDowell and the Most Rev. Liam McDaid.
In St Kieran’s Church, Cloughjordan, Mrs Lucy Kavanagh will be commissioned as Diocesan President of the Mothers’ Union while in St Mary’s Church, Inistioge, the annual Songs of Praise service will be held with the Rev. Dr Philip Knowles at the organ, the Kilkenny Gospel Choir and the choral group, In Cantorium, from Athy, Co Kildare. In St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, there will be an organ recital at 4.15pm by Dr Stephen Timpany, the cathedral’s director of music. His programme will include works by JS Bach, John Stanley, Walton and Elgar.
On Wednesday evening in Skerries the Archbishop of Dublin will institute the Rev. Anthony Kelly as rector of the Holmpatrick group of parishes where he has been bishop’ curate since 2012.
The Society of St Willibroad in Britain and Ireland will conclude its conference with a celebration of the Eucharist and dinner in St Lasarian’s Cathedral, Old Leighlin, on Friday.
The society is an important ecumenical body which promotes inter-church relationships and is chaired by the Bishop of Cashel, Ferns & Ossory.
The Rev. Ted Woods, who was Rector of Rathfarnham until his retirement in 2014, has written And Some There Were, a "light look" at past Church of Ireland clergy.
There are 25 sketches of priests and prelates from the Reformation to the 20th century including the rogues and the righteous. Intended to inform and entertain, the book is available as an e-book from Amazon.