Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 22 July 2006
Clonmacnoise Service
It says something about the place which religion still holds in the Ireland of the celtic tiger that many of the country?s most iconic sites, preserved seemingly for ever on postcards with clear blue skies, are religious places ? Skellig Micheal, Glendalough, the Rock of Cashel and, of course, Clonmacnoise. These are evocative places, introducing visitors to an important aspect of our past and reminding natives of the astonishingly rich culture which the life of the church encouraged in Ireland. The very survival of such places, given the periodic disorder to which Ireland was subject and the absence, until modern times, of any significant cultural apparatus to care for national monuments, is remarkable. But their continued existence is not simply a tangible link with the early church in Ireland but is a constant reminder that the church of today does not exist in a vacuum but is part of an on-going historical process which has shaped and continues to shape what we are.
A reminder of that continuity of religious experience and expression is the use by the Church of Ireland of Templeconnor Church at Clonmacnoise. Each Sunday evening during the summer months there is a celebration of the Eucharist in this historic place and each year there is an open air service in the grounds of the monastery. This year the Open Air Service will be held tomorrow (Sunday) at 4 pm. The service will be led by the Rector of Athlone, the Revd Graham Doyle, and the preacher will be the Rt Revd Stuart Burns, Abbott of the Anglican Benedictine Priory of Burford in Oxfordshire. The music will be provided by the Trim and Kildare Cathedral Choirs under the direction of Derek Verso.
Clonmacnoise, following the Reformation, became the responsibility of the established church and the Church of Ireland continued to be responsible for the site until 1882 when, after disestablishment, the monastic ruins were vested in the Commissioners of Public Works to be preserved as a national monument. However, the Church of Ireland retained Templeconnor church for use as a place of worship.
Today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday) there will be an exhibition of the Ros Tapestry Project in St Mary?s Church, New Ross. Three completed tapestries will be on display together for the first time. The subjects of these tapestries are ?The Hunt in the Forest of Ros?, ?Evening: the Lighthouse at Hook Head?, and ?Gothic Glory: the building of the parish church of St Mary?s in 1210?.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the services in St Patrick?s Cathedral, Dublin will be sung by the Close Chorale. In Clonbeg Church in the Glen of Aherlow, Co. Tipperary, there will be an Ecumenical Service, in association with the annual Clonbeg Pattern, at 8 pm when the preacher will be the Dean of Cashel, Dr Philip Knowlers.
On Tuesday Evensong in St Patrick?s Cathedral, Dublin, will be sung by the choir of Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the visiting choir will be from St Mark?s School, Texas and will be conducted by Dr Barry Rose, formerly organist in St Alban?s and St Pauls? Cathedrals. Meanwhile in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, on Monday there will be a lunchtime recital by the Ariosa Singers from All Saints Church, Oystermouth, Swansea, and on Wednesday there will be a lunchtime concert by the choir of St Andrew?s, Rock Mount, North Carolina.
On Wednesday evening at 7 pm the Ardamine Union Summer Bazaar will take place in the Riverchapel Community Centre.