Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 23 September 2006
Festival Weekend in St Nicholas?, Galway
The Collegiate Church of St Nicholas is Ireland?s largest medieval parish church, and situated at the heart of the ancient city of Galway. It is home to the city?s Church of Ireland parish and also a spiritual focal point for the wider community. The parish is hosting a weekend festival of music and liturgy, designed to celebrate the history of the church, its current role in both parish and city, and its future as a spiritual and cultural epicentre for Galway. In particular, seven liturgies which use the building in new ways and a series of lecture and discussions will explore the potential of this most venerable of buildings.
This ( Saturday) morning, Prof Adrian Empey will discuss the role of the church in the medieval community, and in the afternoon, Dr Margaret Daly-Denton will explore the origins of the church?s principal liturgy, the Eucharist, and how they speak to us today. An open forum will then provide the opportunity to discuss ways in which the church ? both people and building ? may more fully realise the potential both possess for declaring the presence of God in the community. All are welcome to these events, and to take a full part in all discussions.
Throughout the day, the discussion sessions will be interspersed with short sung services which have their origins in the monastic-style offices that once would have been sung daily in this church until the reformation. The services will be sung by a variety of groups, including the parish choir, an Irish language group led by Maire Ni Duibhir, and the chamber choir Resurgam. The day will conclude with Compline by Candlelight, sung by Resurgam at 9 pm.
Tomorrow (Sunday) morning, the Parish Eucharist at 11 am will explore the various spaces of the church, with a specially designed hanging screen with images articulating the space between nave and chancel. Incorporated within the liturgy will be the anniversary celebrations of the Galway Grammar School, including the dedication of a commemorative plaque. In the afternoon at 4 pm, Evensong will be sung by a massed choir consisting of St Nicholas? choir, Galway Cathedral choir, Galway Baroque Singers, Cois Claddaigh, and Sunus, together bringing the weekend to a resounding close.
Today (Saturday) the Meath & Kildare Diocesan Synod will meet in Multyfarnham while in the evening there will be an organ recital in St Macartan?s Cathedral, Clogher, by Ian Keatley, the Westminster Abbey Organ Scholar.
Tomorrow (Sunday) RTE will televise a studio service with the staff and members of CMS Ireland. In St Fin Barre;?s Ctahedral, Cork, the Dean of St Pauls? Cathedral, London, Dr John Moses, will preach at the annual Friends? Service while in St Anne?s Cathedral, Belfast, there will be a special Evensong for the Diocesan Organ Scholars at which the preacher will be the Dean of Christ Church, Dublin, the Very Revd Desmond Harman.
In NUI Galway on Tuesday evening there will be another of the Church of Ireland Gazette questions & answers session on the Church and the Media. Meanwhile in Cork Richard Wood will speak at the launch of The Cathedral of St Fin Barre at Cork. William Burges and Ireland?, a new study of the cathedral by David Lawrence and Ann Wilson which has been published by Four Courts Press.
On Friday the Clogher Diocesan Synod will meet in Monaghan while in the evening in Kilkenny the Rt Revd Michael Burrows will be enthroned as Bishop of Ossory in St Canice?s Cathedral.