Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Eastertide
Next Sunday is Easter Day when, by tradition, the bishops preach in their diocesan cathedrals.
For the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne & Ross this will be the last Easter on which he will preside as bishop in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral as he retires on 30 April.
Paul Colton was schooled in Cork and is a law graduate of UCC. He was ordained in 1984 for the curacy of St Paul’s, Lisburn, in the Diocese of Connor, and was subsequently a Vicar Choral of Belfast Cathedral before his appointment as Rector of Castleknock, in the Diocese of Dublin, in 1990. During his time in Belfast he studied at the Irish School of Ecumenics and subsequently pursued postgraduate work in law in Cardiff leading to the award of a doctorate in 2013.
He was elected Bishop of Cork, Cloyne & Ross in 1999 in succession to Bishop Roy Warke. Dr Colton’s tenure of the see has been marked by an exemplary devotion to the life and work of the diocese which has been complemented by his status as a significant and well regarded figure in the city and county of Cork. Appropriately he retires as the longest serving bishop of the diocese.
Today (Friday), Good Friday, the Archbishops of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson and Dr Dermot Farrell, will lead the Ecumenical Walk of Witness which begins at St Mary’s Cathedral in Marlborough Street at 7pm and continues through the city streets to Christ Church Cathedral.
Next Thursday a new series of lunchtime lectures, ‘Handel & Dublin‘ will begin in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, at 1.10pm. The opening lecture will be given by independent scholar, Tríona O’Hanlon, who will speak on ‘Music & Charity in Handel’s Dublin’. The series has been devised for the Friends of Christ Church by Adrian Le Harivel. All are welcome and admission is free.
The choir of St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, Galway, will be making an historic visit to Rome this month, singing at some of the city’s most famous churches and basilicas in the week following Easter. A highlight will be Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St Peter’s Basilica: the choir is delighted to have been invited to sing there (a rare honour for an Anglican choir), and to include music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – the most famous composer associated with the place. The ecumenical spirit of the trip is further enhanced with appearances at two well–known churches dedicated to St Paul – one inside the city walls, the other outside.
The twenty four voices of the ensemble will include the many students who are on choral scholarships to sing in the choir, as well as long standing members of the choir and the St Nicholas’ community. The choir will be accompanied by the Provost of Tuam, the Very Revd Lynda Peilow, and the Bishop of Tuam, the Right Revd Michael Burrows.