Irish Times Notes04 Apr 09

Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'

Lecture Series on Graveyards

Those who are involved in church administration, at parish, diocesan or central level will be only too aware of the frequency of queries concerning graveyards – queries relating to places of burial, to burial records or to the physical condition of graveyards. Some of these queries are personal, some genealogical and others community based for there are many interested and well intentioned local groups who are anxious to tidy up graveyards.

Following disestablishment the Church of Ireland transferred ownership of a significant number of graveyards to the old Poor Law Unions and from time to time thereafter further transfers were made. These graveyards are now the responsibility of the local authorities. As the largest local authority Dublin City Council, inevitably, has a significant involvement in this area and so a lecture series on ‘Dublin City Graveyards’, organized by the indefatigable Dublin City Archivist, Dr Mary Clark, is both welcome and appropriate.

The lectures will be held on Tuesdays at 1.10pm in City Hall during the month of April, beginning next Tuesday with Charles Duggan, the Acting City Heritage Officer who will speak about conservation best practice. On the three subsequent Tuesdays, Dr Raymond Refaussé, from the RCB Library, will speak about Church of Ireland graveyards, Mairead Stack, the City Biodiversity Officer, will consider graveyards as wild life havens, and the historian, Ray Bateson, will look at the history of gravestones from the perspective of the Easter Rising.

Today (Saturday) at 2pm, in St Ann’s church, Dawson Street, there will be a re-enactment of the marriage of Bram Stoker and Florence Balcome. Stoker’s book, Dracula, has been chosen as Dublin City Council’s ‘One City One Book’ and this will be one of a series of events during the month of April.

Tomorrow (Sunday) at 7.30pm in St Paul’s Church, Glenageary, there will be a evening of words and music for Palm Sunday with the combined choirs of Glenageary and Stillorgan parishes and Dun Laoghaire Methodist Church, directed by Derek Verso. The Bishop of Cashel & Ossory will return to the Douglas union of parishes, where he began his ordained ministry, to preach on Palm Sunday and at the evening services during Holy Week.

In Christ Church Cathedral the Archbishop of Dublin will preside at the Holy Week Services while in Christ Church, Taney, the Bishop of Tuam will be the Holy Week preacher. In St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, the former Bishop of Limerick, the Rt Revd Michael Mayes, will conduct the Holy Week services.

‘Passion Players’, hosted by Gay Byrne on RTE Radio 1 at 9pm during Holy Week, will include in its panel the theologian, Dr Margaret Daly-Denton, who teaches in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, and will have as a guest contributor next Tuesday, the former Dean of Kildare, the Very Revd Matthew Byrne.

On Thursday in St Fachtna’s Cathedral, Rosscarbery, the Bishop of Cork will preside at the Chrism Eucharist. The preacher will be Canon Donald Gray, former Rector of St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, and Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

In St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, on Good Friday, the preacher at Mattins and at the 2pm service will be the former Bishop of Connor, Dr Samuel Poyntz, while in St Ann’s church, Dawson Street the Three Hours Devotion will be led by the new rector the Revd David Gillespie. In Belfast, the former Bishop of Limerick, the Rt Revd Edward Darling will conduct the Three Hours Devotion in Columba’s church, Knock.