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Loughduff church refurbished for centenary

At the unveiling of a stone to commemorate the rededication of St. Joseph's Church, Loughduff. From left: Patrick Brady, Fr. Tom Smith, Fr. Jim Brady, Fr. Owen Devaney, Bishop Colm O'Reilly, Fr. Bernard Brady, Fr. Bernard O'Reilly, Fr. Eamon Lynch, Fr. Kevin Fay, Ronan Halton, Chloe Donohoe and Katie Boylan. Code: 290710 St Josephs Church2 CC Photo: Charlie Cronin

The community of Loughduff turned out in force at the weekend to celebrate the rededication of St Joseph's Church.

After being closed for many months, the 100-year-old church was re-opened following a complete overhaul and the results were finally unveiled at the mass of rededication on Saturday night.

Bishop Colm O'Reilly celebrated the mass with Canon Owen Devaney, Parish Priest of Mullahoran and con-celebrants Frs. Bernard O' Reilly, Jim Brady, Eamon Lynch, Brian Brady, Tomsie Smith and Kevin Fay. On the night, Bishop Colm O'Reilly spoke of the strong community ties in the parish of Mullahoran and quoted from Canon Edward Boylan's famous book on the parish.

The mass of rededication signalled the start of a new era for Loughduff Church, which was originally built in 1910. The church has been closed since February 2010 and since then it has been transformed by teams of craftspeople from near and far. One of the highlights of the refurbishment is the new altar, ambo and tabernacle donated to the church by the Sisters of Mercy in Granard. The sanctuary area in the church has been modified and relocated and the sanctuary lamp, removed in the 1979 refurbishment, once again hangs over the sanctuary. The front porch now accommodates a devotional area to honour St. Joseph and this area has been redesigned to allow easy access to the church. The seating has been refurbished and the stations of the cross revitalised.

After the mass on Saturday night, refreshments were served in the local parish hall in Killydoon where, in keeping with the strong community effort that went into this project, food was provided free of charge by local volunteers on the night. A large team was involved in the restoration project under the direction of committee chairman, Gene Reilly; secretary, Mairead McKeogh and treasurer Paddy Lynch.

The re-opening of St. Joseph's Church coincides with at the launch of a book entitled 100 Years of Faith in Loughduff. This wonderful book is a mine of information about the Loughduff community and includes many stories, poems and recollections from local people. The book also features a large number of photographs from the community over the past 100 years providing a fantastic trip down memory lane for Loughduff people. It provides details of local priests who went on to travel throughout the world and looks back on all aspects of community life in Loughduff in the last century. This publication was compiled by a small and dedicated editorial team from the community and it is now available in local shops and post offices for €20.