Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Don’t Forget the Gazette
The Decade of Commemorations is well under way but for many the highlight will probably 2016 when both the Irish Rising and the Battle of the Somme will be recalled. However, within the Church of Ireland 2016 is of significance for another reason for it sees the 160th anniversary of the publication of the Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette which in 1900 was renamed the Church of Ireland Gazette. The first issue appeared in March in1856 and its continued publication ever since makes it, it is believed, the oldest weekly church newspaper still in existence. In contrast the Church Times did not appear until1863.
The Gazette is the oldest Church of Ireland serial publication predating the Church of Ireland Directory, the Journals of the General Synod and the diocesan magazines. It is therefore the place of first resort for those who wish to examine the history and development of church life from the mid 19th century. News and comment, letters, sermons, book reviews, an amazing array of advertisements, and the quaintly entitled column ‘Ecclesiastical Intelligence’ which reported local church events provide the reader with an unrivalled source of information on how the Church of Ireland was viewed and how it viewed itself. However, it is not an easy publication to use and, despite the assistance of some in–house indexes in the RCB Library, requires of the researcher many hours of hard searching through the hard copies.
An indication of how modern technology can unlock the secrets of the Gazette is all too evident from the RCB Library’s August ‘Archive of the Month’ which presents the issues for 1913 in a fully searchable form – at the press of a button any topic can be easily researched. Modern issues of the Gazette, from 2006 are available electronically and the challenge of making the complete run available in an easily searchable form is a topic of discussion between the Gazette and the RCB Library which holds a complete run of the newspaper – surely another worthy way to commemorate 2016. ‘Archive of the Month’ can be viewed at http://ireland.anglican.org/library/archive
Tomorrow (Sunday) the final recital in the current William Lauder Memorial Organ Recital series will take place in St Patrick’s cathedral, Armagh, at 4.15pm. The recitalist will be Orly Watson, a music student in Somerville College, Oxford, who during the university vacations assists with the music in St Patrick’s cathedral and is organist of Donaughmore parish church.
On Wednesday the lunchtime recital in St Peter’s church, Portlaoise, will be given by the Irish Midland Orchestra while in the evening at 7pm the Romsey Youth Choir from Hampshire will give a Summer Concert in St Macartin’s cathedral, Enniskillen. The final recital in the 33rd Festival of Music in St Barrahane’s church, Castletownshend, will take place on Thursday evening at 8pm when the recitalists will be Keith Pascoe (violin) and Brian Macnamana (piano). On Friday Rachel Talbot (soprano) and David O’Shea (piano) will perform songs and arias by Handel, Schubert, Liszt and others in Sandford parish church at lunchtime.
Premier Christian Radio, the UK’s leading Christian radio station, has been launched across Northern Ireland on DAB digital radio. Premier is an ecumenical station covering a broad range of Christian traditions and provides interviews and news from a Christian perspective, testimonies, prayer and a wide range of Christian music. You can find Premier by scrolling alphabetically through the digital radio’s station list. Alternatively it can be found on Freeview channel 725 or can be listened to online at www.premier.org.uk
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’