Two Laois parish union churches launch major fundraiser

A MAJOR fundraising event for Mountmellick & Coolbanagher Union of Parishes was launched recently against the backdrop of the historic and stately Emo Court.

Rev Lesley Robinson outlined the reason for holding the fundraiser, which will go towards the maintenance and development of improvements at the historic St Paul’s church in Mountmellick and St John the Evangelist’s church in Coolbanagher.

Speaking at the launch, Revd Robinson, said: “Just to give you a little bit of background about our parishes and what the funds raised will be used for. St Paul’s church, Pearse Street, Mountmellick is a Georgian Gothic church, completed in 1828, on a site which dates back to an earlier church in 1665. We look forward to celebrating the bicentenary of the church in a couple of years’ time. It is surrounded by a graveyard which is an oasis of peace and quietness in a busy town and on the side of the N80.

‘‘There are many interesting monuments and headstones there and one of the oldest gravestones is dated 1709. A new extension to the graveyard was added in 1981. The church has seen many additions and improvements over the years and still boasts a magnificent pipe organ installed in 1903 and still in use today. Adjacent to the graveyard is the old school, dating back to 1848, and the house which formerly housed the school teacher. The teacher’s residence currently houses a number of Ukrainian refugees, while the old school is used as our parish hall since the opening of the new St Paul’s National School just down the road in 1976.

‘‘St John the Evangelist’s church in Coolbanagher, just down the road from us here in Emo, dates back to 1785. It succeeded an earlier church in Coolbanagher dedicated to St Peter, which was set on fire in 1779. St John’s is unique in that it is the only church building in Ireland designed by the renowned architect James Gandon, who also designed Emo Court and, even more famously, the Customs House and Four Courts in Dublin.

‘‘St John’s has always had a strong connection with Emo Court ‒ in the 1970s, the interior of the church was repainted in the Georgian colours and in the 1980s, Mr Cholmeley Harrison of Emo Court commissioned urns (which were in the original design by Gandon, but never executed) to be placed in the niches in the walls, very much in the style of the magnificent entrance hall in Emo Court.

‘‘The church also houses a late medieval octagonal limestone baptismal font, very possibly associated with the nearby lost early Christian monastery of St Lughach. Beside the church is the old school house, completed in 1810, complete with a teacher’s residence upstairs. The school closed in 1966 due to falling attendances and was used as a parish hall until the poor condition of the building forced its closure a couple of years ago.

‘‘The small Church of Ireland community in the Mountmellick and Coolbanagher area is the proud steward of all these wonderful and historic buildings, which is both a blessing and a challenge. In addition to maintaining the physical structures, we also continue to minister to what St Peter referred to as ‘living stones’ – the people in our care and in the wider community.

‘‘In addition to the ongoing cost of maintenance and ministry, we have some exciting projects in the pipeline for both sites. We have drawn up plans for restoring the old school in Coolbangher, beginning with the hall, kitchen and toilets. When completed, the building will then be available to the parish and the wider community for various events and meetings.

‘‘In Mountmellick, the two greatest needs identified at St Paul’s is the creation of a safe car parking area and the provision of accessible toilets. We are in the process of applying for planning permission to widen the access off the road into the adjoining church field, which has been used as a car park but has visibility limitations when coming back out onto the N80, and also needs levelling and resurfacing. We are also looking into the practicalities of putting toilet facilities, currently lacking, on the site of the church.

‘‘The financial burden of such improvements along with meeting our day-to-day running costs is daunting but, reminding ourselves that ‘nothing is impossible with God,’ we have applied for some grant funding from Laois Co Council and embarked on this major fundraising initiative which we are launching today.

‘‘In the month since we started procuring sponsorship and advertising for the greyhound race night to be held in Newbridge on Friday 19 June (tickets €10 per person, with free entry for children under-12 and can be purchased from parishioners or online), we have been blown away by the generosity and support of local businesses, especially by our race sponsors, many of whom are present here today with us.’’