Cloverhill church celebrates 150th anniversary

Reverend Steve Clark and the select vestry of St John's Church, Cloverhill, which is in the Diocese of Kilmore, have organised a weekend of events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the church, from Friday, May 28 to Sunday May 30. Located on the N54 between Cavan and Clones, the church of St John's was constructed by Mary Anne Sanderson, the local landlord, in memory of her father, It stands at the centre of Cloverhill village. The central event running over the weekend is a flower festival and the arrangements centre around the theme of the 'I am' sayings of Jesus. The flower festival will be open to members of the public from 3pm on Friday, May 28 and the official opening will be performed by Dr. Samuel Poyntz, formerly bishop of Connor at 7pm that evening. At this ceremony, a new book entitled 'Cloverhill, A Church of Ireland parish in County Cavan c.1720-2010' by Jonathan Cherry and published by Geography Publications, Dublin will be launched.The flower festival will be open to the public from 11am until 6pm on Saturday, May 29 and at 7.30pm on that evening a ticketed concert featuring the Ballyclare Male Choir will be held in the church. Those featured in the choir will include Alan Crawford and Louise Florence and the tickets are €10 each. On Sunday morning, May 30 at 11.30am, the special preacher at the service of thanksgiving and celebration will be the Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, Ken Clarke. The flower festival viewing will continue and will remain open until 7pm. There will also be an exhibition of photographs and prints featuring Cloverhill and its unique beauty and tranquillity down through the years. Refreshments will also be available throughout the weekend. Reverend Steve Clark who is the Rector for Cloverhill, Drumaloor, Drumlane and Belturbet told The Anglo-Celt that the concert on the Saturday evening will be a very special event. The exhibition of photographs in the hall will take people down memory lane with a scan through the decades will also catch the imagination of young and old. Reverend Clark also noted that the graveyard surrounding the church always looks well and is cared for with great dedication. He is confident that people will be travelling from all over Ireland to attend the festival and the different celebrations. People with contacts all over the country have been working to ensure this happens and numerous coach parties are also expected. Visitors, passer-bys and families who have associations and connections with Cloverhill are welcome to attend these events and join in the celebrations.