Historic Mayo church to reopen following Storm Éowyn repairs

THE yellow hard hat in the passenger seat of Reverand Suzanne Cousins’ car is now redundant.

Holy Trinity Church in Westport is set to reopen its doors tomorrow (Friday, 23 January), almost exactly one year after Storm Éowyn forced its closure.

The jubilant rector spoke to The Mayo News on the day contractors completed ceiling repairs and returned the keys. She emphasised that all are welcome to the reopening celebration, which begins at 7.30pm.

“The purpose of the ceremony is to give thanks to God and give thanks to the community, the whole wider community for the support and to celebrate the reopening,” Rev Cousins said.

Rt Rev Bishop Michael Burrows will attend what Rev Cousins is informally calling “a big bash with the bishop.” The ecumenical service will act as a public thanksgiving for the reopening, with refreshments afterwards in Carrowbeg House beside St Mary’s Church.

Roof falling in

THE church was forced to close due to dangerous conditions in the ceiling over the nave and ornately decorated sanctuary. While the damage may not have appeared severe to the naked eye, safety experts, engineers and conservation architects concluded the building was unsafe for use, with fears that heavy chunks of plaster could fall and injure someone.

The restoration cost under €100,000, covered by government grants, Church of Ireland funds and fundraising events.

The repair work can be seen just to the right of the stained glass window in the middle

Rev Cousins praised Newport contractor George O’Malley, whose firm carried out the meticulous repair work. “He’s a renowned plasterer and was responsible for the sealing of St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford,” she said. “His work was meticulous, and his teams worked very well. And I know he very generously didn’t charge us everything he could have.”

Churches working together

DURING the closure, the congregation worshipped at St Mary’s Catholic Church, an arrangement Rev Cousins described with deep appreciation.

“We want to really go on record that we are so grateful to St Mary’s congregation and the parish there, the Catholic Parish, and Father John (Kenny) for accommodating us so generously, without hesitation or grudge, and going the extra mile to welcome us whenever we need somewhere to have our services,” she said. “And that took a lot of pressure off us, took a lot of weight off our shoulders.”

The congregation was even permitted to celebrate Holy Communion at St Mary’s using Church of Ireland liturgy, which Rev Cousins noted was “quite a step.”

Reflecting on her own experience of having worked in both her native Northern Ireland, as well as Donegal and Mayo, she says that it is considerably easier to do things ecumenically in Westport.

“I grew up in the North right through all the worst periods of the Troubles. So now there’s been a lot of progress made there.

“But I find it considerably easier to do things ecumenically in Westport. There’s no challenge and there’s not a word said. Whereas you know some things like other things, such as an ecumenical walk of witness for Good Friday or Pentecost Sunday, those would not be necessarily comfortable in every part of every Church of Ireland and every other part of the country or further north.”

The wider context facing both Catholic and Protestant church leaders is the double whammy of shrinking congregations and finances coming up against the difficult task of maintaining aging buildings that, bar a handful of big events each year, are wildly over capacity and hard to heat.

This shared problem comes at a time when ecumenical relations appear to be at an all-time high.

It begs the question of whether there is a growing case for the Catholic Church and its Church of Ireland counterparts to consider sharing places of worship.

Template

COULD the year-long experiment in Westport be seen as a template for how such an arrangement could work?

“The sharing of resources and the sharing of sacred space has been very comfortable for us. And I know there have been strong bonds of friendship built,” Rev Cousins says reflecting on the past year.

“I’ve had so many of the St Mary’s people say to me and to others from my congregation, ‘Oh, we miss you, because we were back into Holy Trinity here just before Christmas, for those couple of weeks and for one funeral.’”

“We could share buildings, but I think probably for the likes in this town, nobody would want to see this [Holy Trinity Church] close, because it’s a national monument and it’s important to the town. It brings people to the town and I’m sure the same could be said of St Mary’s Church,” Rev Cousins tells The Mayo News.

While acknowledging the building’s architectural and historical importance, Rev Cousins is determined to keep Holy Trinity as a living place of worship rather than merely a tourist attraction.

She recalled advice from a former archbishop: “Beware the museumisation of the church. Don’t let your churches, your buildings, become museums.” She emphasised that these remain sacred spaces important in people’s lives for baptisms, confirmations, marriages and burials.

Holy Trinity can comfortably accommodate more than 300 people

Built around 1860, Holy Trinity can comfortably hold over 300 people, though Sunday services typically see between 30 and 60 attendees, with numbers increasing during summer months.

The church is far from typical for a Church of Ireland building. Its ornate interior features extensive marble work, mosaics and intricate stencilling on the ceiling—a legacy of the third Marquess of Sligo’s fondness for Italian architecture and design.

“My understanding is that the third Marquess of Sligo had a fondness for Italian architecture and design and art. And hence he commissioned people to come from Italy, craftsmen to come and do a lot of this work,” Rev Cousins explained.

Tourist attraction

THE building attracts tourists from around the world, including visitors from the United States, Japan, Canada and across Europe. “So we’re really looking forward to getting the doors open again every day for tourists to be able to come in and out,” she said.

Looking ahead, the church will need additional fundraising for repainting and decorative work to restore the ornate ceiling stencilling to its former glory.

The reopening ceremony tomorrow begins at 7.30pm is open to all members of the community.