Church of Ireland - Diocese of Dublin
Parish News
Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla
July/August 2002

From the Registers

Dear Friends,

As your probably well aware, Our Archbishop, Most Reverend Walton Empey retires at the end of July. During his 44 years of service in the Church he has worked all over Ireland and in Canada. He has been Bishop of Limerick, Meath and Kildare and for the last six years our Archbishop.

His great qualities have been his kindness, warmth and good humour which have endeared him to both the clergy and the lay people of the diocese, as well as making him a great ambassador for the Church of Ireland. He has risen above the controversies that have arisen during his tenure but hasn't been afraid to speak out on important issues when the need arises. He has shown great leadership over the issue of refugees and asylum seekers and been at the forefront of campaigns such as Jubilee 2000, the campaign to cancel the debts of the developing world. At the height of the Drumcree controversy, he wasn't content to simply speak from the sidelines, but instead he visited the Select Vestry on a number of occasions and met with the Garvaghy Road residents. In all he has been an excellent archbishop for the diocese. He goes to a well earned retirement in Carlow where he will have time and space to indulge in his favourite hobby of fishing….

A farewell service for the Archbishop takes place on July 28th in Christchurch Cathedral at 3.30pm. and everyone is welcome to attend. At this service there will be a presentation to the Archbishop from the diocese. The Select vestries have already contributed to this, but if any of you would like to make a personal contribution, you can this to the Diocesan Office, Church Avenue, Rathmines Dublin 6 before July 12th.

The Electoral College to nominate the new Archbishop will meet at the end of August and is made up of 50 people, approximately half from Dublin Diocese and half from the other dioceses of the Southern Province. Please pray for them in this important work.

Finally, thank you to all of you for your congratulations on my appointment as Rural Dean of Fingal.

Yours in His Service
Andrew

The Parish News
The Parish News will be published monthly and will usually be available by the first Sunday.
Copy Deadline Organisation reports should be sent either in written format to Martha Waller, C/O The Parish Office, or by email to: MarthaWaller@Hotmail.com.
These should be submitted by the 10th of the preceding month, no matter what day of the week.

Holy Baptism:
On 9th June at St Brigid's, Ellen Bridgid Boyle (daughter of Pat and Caroline of Brookhaven),
May she shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.

Confirmation:
On 19th May at King's Hospital, Rachel Patton (daughter of John and Mildred of Park Avenue).
O Lord, may she continue to be yours for ever.

Holy Matrimony:
On 3rd June in Greyabbey, Co Down, Ralf Kempe and Ruth Savage. [see report by Janet Craven on page 6 of this magazine]

Christian Funeral:
On 22nd May at St Mary''s Clonsilla, Mildred Jane Lawlor of Hartstown.
May she rest in peace.

In memoriam:
Mildred Jane Lawlor (14th November 1921 - 18th May 2002). Born in Scotland, Mildred came at an early age to live in Dublin, first in Dawson Street, and then later in Kilmainham. She remained living in the same area after the birth of her daughter Patricia, and when Ken and Patricia were married all three lived together in the same house. The family moved to Clonsilla 18 years ago. Mildred was devoted to her family, like a second mother to her grandchildren and was delighted with the arrival of her two great-grandchlldren.

A woman of deep faith and a regular communicant, in recent years Mildred was sadly housebound but never lost her great sense of humour. We send our sympathy to Patricia and Ken (Patton), to the grandchildren, Ian, Susan, Alison, Gillian and David, great-grandchildren, Ben and Cori, and to the wider family circle and friends.

Brownie and Guide Notes:
We will be starting back after the Summer on Thursday 12th September - Brownies at 6. 15p.m. and Guides at 7.30 p.m. Have an enjoyable Summer
Diana Hamilton - Brownies
Pauline McConnell - Guides.

Boys' Brigade:
Lee Bannister and Paul Lawson represented the 10th Dublin on the Battalion Soccer team who played against East Antrim on Saturday 25th May 2002 at Bluebell United's home ground. This was a great honour for the Company as they have consistently supplied boys to the Battalion team down through the years. The Dublin Battalion team were beaten 4-2 but the game was quite evenly contested. A splendid day was had by all with a trip to McDonalds, and a fun evening at the Leisureplex in Tallaght. Thanks to Colin Deegan T/A for organising and managing the team.
Martha Waller Secretary

OUR RECTOR'S APPOINTMENT
Congratulations to Rev. Andrew on his appointment of Rural Dean of Fingal

Ordination:
Sandra wishes to thank all those of you who supported her at her ordination to the Priesthood on 30th June at Christ Church Cathedral, both by your presence and by your prayers; and a special thank you to all of you who have written and sent cards and gifts.
Go raibh mile maith agaibh.

The Parish Hiking Group enjoyed a bracing walk at Bray Head last month. You are welcome to join us this month as we go to Vartry Reservoir in Co Wicklow - meet at St Brigid's Church at 9.30am on Saturday 13th July Gladys Hutchinson

Ecumenical Matters:
It was a real privilege for members of our parish, accompanied by our Curate, to be invited to be present at the visit to the Dublin West Community Church of Dr John Stott and Dr Chris Wright on 8th June. A good participation of some 5 local churches took part, and gained so much from the shared prayer and praise led very ably by a youth ensemble, and from the heart-warming message given by John Stott who made the familiar verses in Matthew 11 come to life for us - "Come to me all who are burdened… Take my yoke upon you and you will find peace and rest." Similar meetings in West Dublin would be such a blessing. Maybe the Power to Change events in September will be able to follow this up.
Dr Janet Craven.

Christian Aid Week:
Many thanks to all who supported the Christian Aid Coffee Morning in May and contributed via the pew envelopes. We raised €930 for this important aid agency.

Dear Lord
So far today, I am doing all right.
I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy,
nasty, selfish or self-indulgent.
I have not whined, bitched,
cursed or eaten any chocolate.
I have not charged on my credit card.
But I will be getting out of bed in a minute,
And I think that I'll really need your help then.

A joyous occasion took three parishioners from Clonsilla to Greyabbey, Co. Down to share in the wedding service of Ralf Kampe and Ruth savage on Monday 3rd June. Ralf was well know at St. Mary's as the tall landscape gardener with reddish hair and a smile. His slide show in the parish hall before he left gave a great insight into life in East Germany and also the intricacies of professional gardening and some lovely results. He headed for Schloss Klaus in Austria, a Christian life training centre based on Capernwray in U.K. and after a year was seconded to Thetis Island off the coast of Vancouver Island to a similar training centre. Study, community living and gardening filed his life, interspersed with out-reach programmes in Victoria B.C., among other places.

On one such assignment he and Ruth, chief caterer at the centre came to realise that God has a plan for them to share their lives together in serving Him and after introductory visits to Northern Ireland and Germany wedding plans were set for June. What an occasion it was!.

Ralf's parents, his brother Stefan, and friend Tobias [who had all visited us at Clonsilla] were there from Sachsen, joined a fine contingent from Schloss Klaus and from Thetis Island, so all the proceedings were bilingual. The Savage family being gifted musicians provided all the music, and a young German lass added flair with her violin. There was such a sense of dedication to the Lord and to His service, an occasion to be remembered. Photos at Mount Stewart, before the reception at the Clandeboy Lodge Hotel, gave a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the gardens there.

The photos will appear on the parish website, thanks to our web-master. Pat, George and Janet felt so privileged to represent you all at this unique celebration. Thank you Heavenly Father.
Janet Craven.

PLEASE TELL US
Have you or any member of your family- done or achieved anything recently that they would like us to know about. Please tell us so that we can share their joy.

CORRECTION:
The name of the Castleknock Vestry that appeared last month were incorrect-Here are the correct ones:
Castleknock Rector's CW-Heather Hayes, People's CW-Hilary Nason,
St. Thomas' Rector's CW-Martha Waller, People's CW-Hal McGuckin
Glebewardens-Dave Dobson and Sam McKeever
Vestry Members: James Anderson, Malcolm Cadoo, Rachel Devlin, Pat Gray, Gladys Hutchinson, Robert Lawson, Hazel McClean, Bernard Neary, Bernard Sheridan, Aishlinn Shine, David Smyth, Edwin Watters.

On 3rd July we will be marking the Patronal Festival of St Thomas, a special occasion when our Curate Sandra will celebrate the Eucharist for the first time. The following potted history of Mulhuddart may be of interest

The quaint little church of St Thomas the Apostle is only 130 years old, but the history of the parish stretches back 14 centuries to the time of the Celtic Church. The name Mulhuddart is (in Irish) Mullach Eadrad, the mound of St Cuthbert of Northumbria. (An alternate version is the mound of the sun's fire, which may suggest a pre-Christian holy place.) The original church on Church Road was named after Cuthbert, as was its Holy Well until the Middle Ages. Eventually the C7th church fell into disuse and by the C13th a new one was needed. Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and with the Holy Well opposite also rededicated, the ruins of this church, its C15th tower, and the Well, can still be seen in the village: they gave the locality the name Tobermhuire (Ladyswell). The first recorded Prebendary of Mulhuddart was William de Northfield in 1260: his role was solely the upkeep of the chancel as the vicar of Castleknock provided a curate for Mulhuddart.

Mulhuddart's Well was the focus of the Guild of the Blessed Virgin, dating from King Henry V's reign; later King Henry VIII granted its charter. Responsible for daily masses, the well-endowed Guild also provided welfare for the poor, education for the local children and a certain amount of pageantry on holy days, particularly at the Well, the water of which was said to have "nine cures". During the visitation of the Archbishop in 1615 the Church was reported to be in good repair; but by 1630 "both the chancel and nave were in ruins" and it was about this time that the Guild died out, though devotions at the Well continued throughout the Reformation (and occasionally still today). Mulhuddart was not immune to the turbulence of the C17th: from 1641 to 1649 much of the village was destroyed by the armies.

Mulhuddart being a prebend of St Patrick's Cathedral, conversion to Protestantism coincided with the Dissolution at the end of the C16th, although the church was soon in ruins. Annexed to Castleknock Parish Church in 1695 "on account of smallness", throughout the C18th worship was in Castleknock only. By the C19th, however, the Protestant community in Mulhuddart wanted a new place of worship. The original church lands no longer being in their hands, a new site was procured at Hollywood Rath to the north of the village, where the present church was consecrated and dedicated to St Thomas the Apostle on 19th December 1871.

Sandra Pragnell

UPDATE
Clonsilla Project: Fund raising is going well. On 13th June we launched our Midsummmer Music at St Brigid's Church, and for our first event we were privileged to have a recital Harp Recital by Cormac De Barra. An international performer, Cormac who studied the harp initially with his grandmother and then on a scholarship in the USA, treated us to a varied programme of music. He will be launching his first solo CD in August and we wish him well. On 20th June our organist Raymond Russell gave an Organ Recital at St Brigid's which was very enjoyable.

Our Bar-B-Q and Treasure Hunt was very badly supported but those that did turn up had a great time. It was a great pity for several reasons-the lack of support from the parish in general and all the hard work that Sean Skehan put into preparing the Treasure Hunt route and clues.

A big thank you to all who helped on the evening and made the food [which was really lovely and great value.]

The next great event is our GOLF CLASSIC at Westmanstown on 22nd September and encourage you all to enter a team and bring your friends. (Contact Valerie Fildes for details and an entry form.).

Our next fork supper is organised for the 22nd October [limited to 60 people] Tickets will be available in September.

The Gift Fair in on Sunday 10th November [ more details next issue].

Steering Group: This committee meets on the third Thursday of every month to make sure that the project is running according to plan. We are very grateful to Mr. Tom McCabe for agreeing to be chairman of this committee. We are currently looking for someone with experience of the building trade to come unto this committee-please contact the Rector if you are volunteering.

Financial update: €42,000 raised so far by fund raising, The pledge money has started to roll in with €10,500 pledged so far. We need lots more so please if you have not pledged anything as yet please do so. We need your help to get this project completed in time.
Valerie Fildes [publicity]

PLEASE RETURN YOUR GOLF CLASSIC ENTRY FORMS
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE-

INCLUDED IN THE FEE:
· Golf, 4 person Team Event
· Four Dinner tickets for each Team
· Extra dinner ticket available.

COMPETITION:
· Four person team event. Rules of competition on the Scorecard
· Places are limited, so Teams must be booked early to be guaranteed a place
· All entries are subject to the approval of Committee
· Handicaps:
· GUI Handicap Maximum Gents 24 Ladies 36
· Non GUI Handicap Gents 18 Ladies 28

WOULD YOU LIKE TO:
SPONSOR THE EVENT €1000, ENTER A TEAM €400 SPONSOR A TEE-BOX OR
GREEN €100, DONATE A TEAM PRIZE

ENTRY FORMS AND FURTHER DETAILS from the Parish Office Tel: 8200040 or Contact
Valerie Fildes

GOAL €180,000
160k
140k
120k
100k TARGET FOR August 2003
60k
50k
40K 42K fundraising up to 25/6/02
20K
10k 10,500 pledges 25/6/02

we need your help to
achieve our dream

CRISIS IN AFRICA

Thanks to Bono's untiring work, we cannot be unaware of the famine in so many parts of Africa, and the looming threat of disaster for our brothers and sisters there. One thing we can all do is pray, and Christian Aid have produced this little prayer for Africa

SERVICES FOR AUGUST

Sunday Service Times:

You are welcome to worship with us;
children's activities at the main morning services.
8.30 am St Brigid's
10.00 am St Mary's
11.30 am St Brigid's
8.00 pm St Thomas' (3rd Sunday from October to May)
7.00 pm 2nd Sunday Healing service in St. Brigid's (October -May)
Wednesdays: Parish Centre: 10.30 am HC followed by coffee.

SERVICES FOR JULY

Wed 3rd
10.30 Eucharist Parish Centre
20.00 Sung Eucharist St. Thomas' Mulhuddart

Sunday 7th
8.30 Eucharist St. Brigid's
10.00 Eucharist St. Mary's
11.30 Eucharist St. Brigid's
20.00 Night Prayer St. Thomas' Mulhuddart

Wed 10th
10.30 Eucharist Parish Centre

Sunday 14th
8.30 Eucharist St. Brigid's
10.00 Mattins St. Mary's
11.30 Mattins St. Brigid's
20.00 Healing Service St. Thomas' Mulhuddart

Wed 17th
10.30 Eucharist Parish Centre

Sunday 21st
8.30 Eucharist St. Brigid's
10.00 Eucharist St. Mary's
11.30 Eucharist St. Brigid's
20.00 Night Prayer St. Thomas' Mulhuddart

Monday 22nd
10.30 Eucharist [St James the Apostle] St. Brigid's

Wed 24th
10.30 Eucharist Parish Centre

Sunday 28th
8.30 Eucharist St. Brigid's
10.00 Mattins St. Mary's
11.30 Mattins St. Brigid's
15.30 Farewell Evensong to The Archbishop-Christ Church Cathedral 20.00 Healing Service St. Thomas' Mulhuddart

Wed 31st
10.30 Eucharist Parish Centre

Parishioner Profile

CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK TO THEO LAWSON
Sporting Achievements:
Theo Lawson was Captain of the U-13 Kings Hospital cricket team that won the Harry Riske Cup beating the much fancied Belvedere College in the final. KH won by two wickets.
He has been selected to represent Leinster in the forthcoming interprovincial series to be held in Cork next week 1-4 July. He also had a trial with the Ireland U-13 squad. He will know the outcome after the Interprovincial series.

Ollie, Laurence, Andrew, Richard, Robert, Robert, Ciaran, Liam, P.O. (in lucky hat!) Euan, Jack, Theo (capt.) Daniel and Felix.

Parishioner Profile

Father and Daughter [Punto Drivers]