Dungannon soprano and harpist, Gemma Prince
Dungannon soprano and harpist Gemma Prince performed some of Thomas Moore’s Irish Melodies at St Macartan’s Cathedral Clogher. “Sing, Sweet Harp” provided a fine opening to the 25th annual William Carleton Society Summer School. The school director Aidan Fee introduced Gemma, with a talk on Moore. Cathedral organist Diane Whittaker provided the music at the start and finish of the performance.
St Macartan’s Cathedral Monagan & Tirkeenan on Dublin Road Photo: © Michael Fisher
Congratulations and happy 65th wedding anniversary to my wonderful parents Peggy and Des (as of tomorrow both will be 93). It’s known as a blue sapphire anniversary. I passed Tirkeenan and St Macartan’s Cathedral Monaghan where they were married as I made my way to Dublin from Tydavnet this morning. On September 8th 1948 Mum only had to stroll across the road to the church, yet she exercised the prerogative of the bride to be late! The wedding breakfast followed at Tirkeenan on a Wednesday morning after 8:30am Mass celebrated by my uncle the late Fr Harry Smyth CM. Congratulations!
My father wrote a lovely poem for my mother based on Kavanagh’s Raglan Road, which incidentally is not far from their first Dublin 4 lodgings of their married life on Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge. The house was owned by the late Liam D.Bergin, proprietor of the Nationalist and Leinster Times in Carlow, where my father began his journalistic career.
St Macartan’s Cathedral Monaghan Photo: © Michael Fisher
St Macartan’s Cathdral, Clogher
The Bishop of Clogher Right Reverend John McDowell has praised those who help to preserve small Anglican Cathedrals in towns throughout Ireland. It’s not an easy task with small congregations in many parishes. In the case of St Macartan’s, the Friends of Clogher Cathedral have made a major contribution over the years to keeping the structure and the interior maintained. The William Carleton Society has co-operated with them on a number of occasions during the annual summer school. The Society held a talk there about the Ulster English on St George’s Day. In March, the Cathedral organised a number of events to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.
St Macartan’s Cathedral
The Friends come from different Christian churches, including Presbyterians, Methodists and Catholics. Every year they hold a service in the Cathedral to coincide with their AGM. I attended their Choral Evensong this afternoon, led by the Precentor Noel Regan, a Sligoman, along with the curate Reverend Alistair Warke. Bishop McDowell preached the homily.
Bishop McDowell & Canon Noel Regan greet members of the congregation
ORDER FOR EVENING PRAYER
The Precentor sang the Vestry Prayer
Processional Hymn: Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
Sentences of Scripture
Bishop of Clogher Rt Rev John McDowell
Exhortation: Dean of Clogher Kenneth Hall, St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen
General Confession
The Absolution: Pronounced by the Bishop
Opening Versicles according to the Book of Common Prayer:
Priest: O Lord, open thou our lips: Choir: And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise. Priest: O God, make speed to save us: Choir: O Lord, make haste to help us. Priest: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Choir: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Priest: Praise ye the Lord. Choir: The Lord’s Name be praised.
Bishop McDowell greeting the congregation
The Psalm: Psalm 84 How lovely is your Dwelling Place, O Lord of Hosts!
Lesson from the Old Testament Genesis 4: 1-16
And Bishop McDowell greets the congregation
Magnificat: The Song of the Blessed Virgin Mary St Luke 1: 46-55
My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his hand-maiden. For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his Name. And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations. He hath shewed strength with his arm, he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher
Lesson from the New Testament: St Mark 5: 21-43
Nunc Dimittis: The Song of Simeon St Luke 2: 29-32
Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen
St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; the forgiveness of sins; the Resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen
Priest: The Lord be with You Choir: And with Thy Spirit Priest: Let us Pray Choir: Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in earth; as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation: but deliver us from evil. Amen
O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us: And grant us thy salvation.
O Lord, save the Queen: And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Endue thy ministers with righteousness: And make thy chosen people joyful.
O Lord, save thy people: And bless thine inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord: Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.
O God, make clean our hearts within us: And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
Bell Tower window
The Collect of the First Sunday of Trinity: The Precentor sings:
O God, the strength of all them that put their trust in thee, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping of thy commandments we may please thee both in will and deed, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Second Collect: for Peace
O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen
The Third Collect for Aid against all Perils
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
Hymn: All People that on Earth do Dwell
St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher
The Sermon: The Right Reverend F John McDowell, Bishop of Clogher
Hymn: (The Breastplate of St Patrick)
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
PRAYERS led by the Diocesan Curate Reverend Alistair Warke
Almighty and merciful God, who in days of old didst give to this land the benediction of thy holy Church, withdraw not, we pray thee, thy favour from us, but so correct what is amiss, and supply what is lacking, that we may more and more bring forth fruit to thy glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The General Thanksgiving:
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving kindness to us and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
A Prayer of St Chrysostom:
Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests. Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.
Hymn with the Collection of Alms: God, whose city’s sure foundation
Heather McKeown playing the bells
God, whose city’s sure foundation
stands upon his holy hill,
by his mighty inspiration
chose of old and chooseth still
men of every race and nation
his good pleasure to fulfil.
Here in Ireland through the ages,
while the Christian years went by,
saints, confessors, martyrs, sages,
strong to live and strong to die,
wrote their names upon the pages
of God’s blessed company.
Some there were like lamps of learning
shining in a faithless night,
some on fire with love, and burning
with a flaming zeal for right,
some by simple goodness turning
souls from darkness unto light.
As we now with high thanksgiving their triumphant names record,
View of graveyard from bell tower window
grant that we, like the, believing
in the promise of thy word,
may, like them, in all good living
praise and magnify the Lord.
The Blessing: The Bishop sings the blessing
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep you in your heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son. and the Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always. AMEN.
Hymn: Abide with me
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
As I arrived at the service, it was nice to hear the Cathedral bells ringing. So afterwards as they rang again while the congregation left the church, I went into the bell tower to look at them, expecting to find a group of bell ringers pulling ropes. Instead I found Heather McKeown at the console of the chime, with eight bells individually numbered and a wooden lever to press down to ring the bell.
“Be Still and Know” on the Chime
She encouraged me to have a go, so I tried playing the hymn “Be Still and Know”. If it sounded a bit strange, I can only apologise, and I did make at least one error in ringing the wrong bell! But second time round it proved a lot easier to ring the bells in the right order and tempo.
Heather McKeown & the 8-bell chime
For more information about the Friends of Clogher Cathedral, please contact the Reverend Precentor Noel Regan, The Deanery, 10 Augher Road, Clogher.
Copyright: photos © Michael Fisher
Material from Book of Common Prayer: © The Representative Body of the Church of Ireland 2004
The Irish Church Hymnal — Fifth Edition: © The Standing Committee of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland 2000
St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher
Dr Paddy Fitzgerald
Much of the discussion about the two communities in Northern Ireland refers to the different backgrounds of the Irish (Gaelic) race and Ulster-Scots. But there is little to be found about a third category that dates back to the time of the Plantation in 1607, Ulster-English. This was the subject of a fascinating talk hosted on St George’s Day at St Macartan’s Cathedral in Clogher, County Tyrone and organised by the William Carleton Society.
The speaker was Dr Paddy Fitzgerald of the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster-American folk park in Omagh, a member of the Executive Committee of the Society. Earlier this year he gave an interesting talk about Archbishop John Hughes who came from the Augher area.
Dr Fitzgerald gave an outline of his own family history, which he pointed out had an Ulster-English connection. He explained that this was a different strand than the Ulster Scots. English settlers arrived after 1607 in the Belfast Lough area, moving through the Lagan Valley and South Antrim towards North Armagh and then along the Clogher Valley into Fermanagh. At the end of his talk, he posed the question whether we should have an Ulster-English Agency, because he said the authorities seemed to be promoting Ulster-Scots as the only alternative to the Gaelic and nationalist tradition.
Attendance at St Macartan’s Cathedral
The British Museum guide on accents and dialects of Northern Ireland says:-
“The Plantation of Ulster…was a planned process of settlement aimed at preventing further rebellion among the population in the north of Ireland. This part of the island was at that time virtually exclusively Gaelic-speaking and had shown the greatest resistance to English colonisation. From the early seventeenth century onwards, Irish lands were confiscated and given to British settlers — or ‘planters’ — who arrived in increasing numbers, bringing the English Language with them. Large numbers of settlers came from southwest Scotland and thus spoke a Scots dialect, while the remaining settlers came predominantly from the north and Midlands of England….
For some considerable time the colonists remained surrounded by Gaelic-speaking communities in County Donegal to the west and the counties of Louth, Monaghan and Cavan to the south. Thus English in the northeast of the island developed in relative isolation from other English-speaking areas such as Dublin, while the political situation over the course of the twentieth century has meant that Northern Ireland has continued to develop a linguistic tradition that is distinct from the rest of Ireland. Scots, Irish Gaelic, seventeenth century English and Hiberno-English (the English spoken in the Republic of Ireland) have all influenced the development of (Ulster) Northern Irish English, and this mixture explains the very distinctive hybrid that has emerged.”
Dr Paddy Fitzgerald
The William Carleton Society would like to express its thanks to Precentor Noel Regan, for making the Cathedral available for this event. In his absence, the diocesan Curate Reverend Alistair Warke said the Cathedral enjoyed a good relationship with the annual William Carleton summer school and was pleased to be able to host the Society’s first talk in its programme for 2012/13. The talk was part of the “Shared History, Shared Future” project, supported by the EU Peace III programme delivered by Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council. 
St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher
Much of the discussion about the two communities in Northern Ireland refers to the different linguistic backgrounds of Irish (Gaelic) and Ulster-Scots. But there is little to be found about a third category that dates back to the time of the Plantation in 1607, Ulster-English. This is the subject of tonight’s talk (7:30pm) hosted on St George’s Day at St Macartan’s Cathedral in Clogher, County Tyrone and organised by the William Carleton Society.
Dr Paddy Fitzgerald & Malcolm Duffey
The speaker is Dr Paddy Fitzgerald of the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster-American folk park in Omagh, a member of the Executive Committee of the Society. Earlier this year he gave an interesting talk about Archbishop John Hughes who came from the Augher area. The British Museum guide on accents and dialects of Northern Ireland says:-
“The Plantation of Ulster…was a planned process of settlement aimed at preventing further rebellion among the population in the north of Ireland. This part of the island was at that time virtually exclusively Gaelic-speaking and had shown the greatest resistance to English colonisation. From the early seventeenth century onwards, Irish lands were confiscated and given to British settlers — or ‘planters’ — who arrived in increasing numbers, bringing the English Language with them. Large numbers of settlers came from southwest Scotland and thus spoke a Scots dialect, while the remaining settlers came predominantly from the north and Midlands of England….
For some considerable time the colonists remained surrounded by Gaelic-speaking communities in County Donegal to the west and the counties of Louth, Monaghan and Cavan to the south. Thus English in the northeast of the island developed in relative isolation from other English-speaking areas such as Dublin, while the political situation over the course of the twentieth century has meant that Northern Ireland has continued to develop a linguistic tradition that is distinct from the rest of Ireland. Scots, Irish Gaelic, seventeenth century English and Hiberno-English (the English spoken in the Republic of Ireland) have all influenced the development of (Ulster) Northern Irish English, and this mixture explains the very distinctive hybrid that has emerged.”
Admission to the talk is free. It is part of the “Shared History, Shared Future” project, supported by the EU Peace III programme delivered through Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council. 
St Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan
A day for reflection and enjoyment in the company of family, so I will not venture into any lengthy diatribe today. It was my mother’s 93rd birthday, which she celebrated at home in Dublin. Meanwhile I was attending a birthday celebration in Monaghan for my first daughter, who had invited around her cousins, aunts and uncles. We were also fortunate to have our second daughter return home from London on an Easter break.
I attended Easter Sunday Mass at Saint Macartan’s Cathedral in Monaghan and there was a large attendance at the lunchtime service. I reflected on how my grandparents (on my mother’s side) would have attended the major liturgical events here sixty years ago and more. Since they lived at Tirkeenan beside the entrance to the Cathedral, they were frequent attenders at Mass, as my grandfather’s diaries from the time recorded.
I then took the opportunity to visit the graveyard at Latlurcan, where I had attended two funerals earlier this month. My aunt Marie and her husband and my uncle Finbarr Smyth are buried there. Finbarr died in an air crash in the Isle of Wight when I was five and living in London in November 1957. He had been flying out to Madeira on a holiday with Cosmo Meldrum, a friend from Sligo, where he was manager of the Yeats Country Hotel at Rosses Point. The Aquila Airways Short Solent flying boat G-AKNU (pictured here at Funchal Bay) crashed shortly after take-off at Southampton docks.
Short Solent G-AKNU taking off from Funchal
Original Photo © J Arthur Dixon, via Wikipedia
During a holiday in Madeira in 2011 I discovered more details about the airline and the planes it used since 1949 to bring holidaymakers to the island, as it developed a tourist industry. There was a small exhibition about the flying boats beside the shop at the Madeira Story Centre museum in Funchal. Upstairs there was also a display that included a mock-up of part of the aircraft’s cabin, including the roof racks used to store luggage. Black-and-white archive film played on small monitors showing the planes taking off. It was an emotional experience. I notice that there is now a plaque at St Mary’s church in Brook, close to Chessel Down, containing the names of all those who died in the crash. At some stage I will go to visit it.
Short Solent Cabin Reconstruction, Madeira
45 people died in the crash, seven of them members of the crew. May they rest in peace. Thirteen people managed to survive, among them a former British Army officer Major PW Colan, from Cloyne in County Cork. British commercial flying-boat operations ceased ten months later on 30th September 1958 when Aquila Airways withdrew its Madeira service. The flying boats for passenger traffic were a variation of the Sunderlands which provided important service from Lough Erne and other RAF bases in the Second World War. They were built by Short Brothers and Harland in Belfast.
St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher
Saint Patrick might be known widely for the foundation of his see in Armagh, of which he was the first Bishop. But it is predated by his legacy in Clogher. To mark Saint Patrick’s Day, archivist Jack Johnston gave a talk on the history of Saint Macartan’s Anglican Cathedral. He pointed out that Saint Patrick came to Clogher and established a church there under Macartan before he went to Armagh, which is now the seat of the all-Ireland Primate in both the Church of Ireland and Catholic churches. The see of Clogher was founded by Saint Patrick, who appointed one of his household, Macartan, as first bishop in 454. Macartan was the ‘strong man’ of Patrick, who established the church in Clogher and spread the gospel in Tyrone and Fermanagh. It is said that Saint Brigid, Macartan’s niece, was present at the founding of the see.
Jack Johnston talk
Jack Johnston’s talk
The Precentor of Saint Macartan’s Cathedral Chapter, Reverend Noel Regan, who is originally from Sligo, organised a series of events to mark Saint Patrick’s Day, starting with the weekly Sunday morning Holy Communion service. There was a Lenten lunch to raise funds for the Us missionary organisation. It was followed by some musicians playing in the Cathedral, including a chance to hear the wonderful organ played by Glenn Moore, Director of Music at the other (later) diocesan Cathedral, St Macartin’s in Enniskillen.
The day was rounded off with an ecumenical evensong, featuring the choir of the Cathedral group of parishes and members of the choir from St Patrick’s Catholic church in Clogher, to a setting by Thomas Tallis. Canon Regan said, “As members of the Church of Ireland we have the great privilege of worshipping in some of the most significant and important sites in the Christian history of this land. In Clogher we have a fine Cathedral which stands on one of the most important Christian sites in the area. We are delighted to open our doors that others might come and together with us learn something of our common heritage and enjoy the surroundings of this holy and special place”.
St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher
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