Celebrating 100 years of Coronea Church

The 100th year anniversary of the Church of Immaculate Conception in Coronea will be celebrated this Sunday, September 27.

The centenary will be marked by a mass of thanksgiving for the church, which has served the community since October 10, 1926, when it was officially opened by the Parish Priest at the time, Father James Judge. The community raised £12,230 to build the church, and around 700 people came for the opening. It was built using local stone from Grier’s Quarry and Corr’s at Legaginny, while stone also came from County Down. Dublin architects W.H. Byrne & Son designed the building, while contractor Felix O’Hare from Warrenpoint carried out the work with the help of the local community.

Now a century later, the local community in Coronea continues to play a huge role in the life of the church.

Preparations for the celebration unearthed a message from the church’s forefathers. When committee members Seamus McGahern and Kevin Geoghegan were drilling the end wall one day, they came across a hollow. Further investigations revealed a jar. Inside was a note written in Latin by Bishop Patrick Finnegan, who laid the foundation stone for the church on September 10, 1925. The note will now be framed for all to see, while the committee plan on refilling the space with their own capsule.

“There’s a man over the road here, he’s 93, and he’d be the oldest man around that was christened here. Then we have a little baby being christened the day before the mass, and she’ll be the youngest,” Seamus explains.

They will put photos of both Ben Sheridan (93) and Mikayla Charlotte Grimes Duignan in the time capsule along with a copy of the Celt and the Coronea school roll. The school has sat side by side with the church for 99 years, and the children will have the honour of placing the time capsule in the wall, where it will remain for the next century.

Fond memories

Kevin remembers when the altar was positioned against the back wall of the church, when the priest had his back to the congregation, with the exception of preaching times.

As a 13 year old serving mass at the time, he remembers thinking “it was great”.

“The priest couldn’t see what we were doing,” he laughs. However, dedicated to his task, the 75 year old also remembers learning Latin “off by heart”, which was essential in order to serve.

Vatican II changed that in the mid to late 60s, when mass was said in the local language and the priest also faced the congregation.

The Coronea native also remembers a time when women sat on the left of the church, while men sat on the right.

Many people walked to church and the ‘mass passes’ were well trodden as people made their way through the fields and across Bruse Hill. However, these shortcuts were mostly used to go to the former church, a small thatched building built in 1750.

Coming up to an election, Kevin remembers the excitement of local politicians such as Paddy Smith (FF) and Tom Fitzpatrick (FG) canvassing outside at the end of mass.

“It was entertainment; nobody went home,” he says, fondly recalling the conversations with neighbours after mass.

“They’d sit on the wall there, they could be there for an hour,” he says.

Newspapers were sold out of the back of cars along the roadside, while Seamus’ grandparents had McGahern’s Shop close by, where everybody would gather for their last-minute bits for Sunday dinner.

Today Coronea church still holds a special place in the hearts of many, evident in how the locals take pride in its upkeep.

“I was christened here and all my children and grandchildren were christened here. We would have had some sad funerals, weddings, we’ve had a few priests that said their first masses here over the years. A lot of milestones,” Kevin reflects.

Father Andrew Tully has been Parish Priest for Coronea, Arva and Killeshandra for the past three years.

“There’s been no resident priest so it means the people are responsible for the day to day running of the church. They have taken responsibility for keeping it alive, all I have to do is turn up and say mass and celebrate the sacraments,” Fr Tully praises.

“There’s huge lay involvement here and always has been for a long number of years,” he continues.

“The biggest thing I notice about people nowadays is that we are resource rich and time poor but, regardless of how precious time is, people in this area are still willing to give time to their church.”

Special Mass

The mass of thanksgiving will take place this Sunday at 3pm, with Bishop Martin Hayes as the main celebrant.

“I know what it means to this community,” says Fr Tully.

Sunday’s mass will be followed by the unveiling of an engraved stone to mark the milestone, with tea, coffee and refreshments in the Cornafean GAA sports hall afterwards. Everybody is welcome