Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Saturday 4 April 2015
The Church of Ireland Gazette editions for 1915 digitized
The RCB Library has now released in full the weekly editions of the 1915 The Church of Ireland Gazette online, highlights from which are presented via a digital exhibition as the April 2015 Archive of the Month.
The 1915 editions add to those already available for the years 1913 and 1914, enabling further analysis of various aspects of the momentous changes that occurred in Ireland and now being marked in the Decade of Commemorations. The contents of the Church of Ireland Gazette provide an invaluable resource about the opinions and attitudes of members of the Church of Ireland through changing times. Written and read by lay and clerical members of the Church, north and south, access via the online search engine brings to life at the touch of a button how unfolding political events in Ireland and abroad were communicated to and received by members of this significant minority community on the island one hundred years ago.
Last year the Library (which is the principal repository for Church of Ireland records), in association with the Gazette, launched a sponsorship appeal to continue the work of digitization of this important resource. These efforts have come to the attention of the Irish government, and financial support from the National Commemorations Programme (managed by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht) has made possible the work presented online for the first time covering the 1915 editions. It is hoped that further support from other individuals will enable the work to continue over the next few years, and sponsorship details are available on the presentation page. The online exhibition may be viewed at www.ireland.anglican.org/library/archive
Tomorrow (Sunday), Easter Day, the bishops, by tradition preach in their diocesan cathedrals. In St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin, the preacher will be the Dean, the Very Revd Victor Stacey, and in St Anne’s cathedral, Belfast the Bishop of Connor, the Rt Revd Alan Abernethy, will preach. In Lisburn cathedral Easter Day will be the culmination of a four day ‘Big Church Serve’ project to engage with the local community. At 11am there will be the Ice Cream Sundae Service which will be ‘church for everybody but with a special Easter themed difference’.
For early risers there will be a Sunrise Eucharist in St Doulagh’s Church, Balgriffin, at 6.00am. Among the locations for outdoor sunrise events are Howth Summit car park, Killiney Hill, South Beach at Arklow, the Lead Mines Chimney at Ballycorus and at the ruined church behind Powerscourt House. There will be an Easter Sunday Morning Ecumenical Service at the foot of the Spire on O’Connell Street in Dublin City Centre organised by the Inner City Churches which includes the Pro Cathedral, St George and St Thomas parish, the Dublin Central Mission, the Presbyterian congregation on Parnell Square and the Salvation Army. The service lasts for about 30 minutes, starting at 9.00am and all who come are invited for breakfast before they retire to their own churches for their Easter services. This year, it is the turn of St George and St Thomas parish to host the breakfast in Cathal Brugha Street.
Next Thursday evening in St Patrick’s Deanery the Archbishop of Dublin will launch Decani; the Deans of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, which has been written by Albert Fenton. A member of the cathedral board, Mr Fenton, who is an accomplished photographer, is also the author of Albert Fenton’s Face to Face: a Collection of Irish Portraits and Past Lives: the memorials of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’