Thanks to Kieran Walsh, a Cobh resident and owner of local company kc3dtours, the parishioners of Cobh and Glanmire Union of Parishes were treated to a unique view of Christ Church, Rushbrooke (Cobh) on Great Island, the largest of the islands in Cork Harbour, at the mouth of the River Lee. Kieran’s drone photography of the church shows the building in its beautiful location overlooking Cork Harbour.
Christ Church (lower centre) at Rushbrooke, near Cobh on Great Island, with the mouth fo Cork Harbour (top) and Roche’s Point (east side of harbour mouth) and Fort Camden (west), Spike Island (first a monastic settlement, then a military fort, then a prison, and now a tourist attraction) and Haulbowline, headquarters of the Irish Naval Service.
The church was built in 1866/7 and designed in the Gothic style by a local architect, William Hill. It is built of cut limestone and the spire of the church is 150ft (46m) high.
Christ Church, Rushbrooke, near Cobh
The organ of the church was built by T.C. Lewis of Brixton, London and now holds the memorial tablets and font from St Mary’s, Cobh. The stained glass at the east end of the church depicts Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the windows on the south side of the sanctuary were erected in 1894 by Captain W.H. Rushbrooke in memory of James Deane, who was agent of the Rushbrooke Estate. The cross on the altar is in memory of Arthur Hugh Smith Barry (Lord Barrymore) 1843 – 1925 who owned Fota Estate.
The church will re-open after lockdown on Ascension Day (Thursday 13th May) with a celebration of the Eucharist at 10.30am. Services on Sunday are held at 10am, and all are most welcome to attend.
The Reverend Tony Murphy, an auxiliary minister in the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, was sent on his way on Friday 30th April with the goal of walking 100 km in the month of May throughout the Diocese in aid of the Diocesan Project in Burundi. Ranking 185th out of 189 countries, Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world.
The Bishop, Dr Paul Colton, and Andrew Coleman of Christian Aid, who is also the Bishops’ Appeal representative in the Diocese, waved Tony off from the forecourt of Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork.
The Rev. Tony Murphy (centre) sets off from St Fin Barre’s Cathedral Cork on his 100km fundraising walk for Burundi, in the Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, during the month of May. Pictured with Tony are, Andrew Coleman, Regional Fundraising Co-ordinator Christian Aid Ireland and Diocesan Bishops’ Appeal Representative (left) and The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, The Right Reverend Dr. Paul Colton. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
Tony visited Burundi in 2019 to see the project first hand. Tony’s goal in May is to walk 5 km in every parish of the Diocese, supported by socially distanced clergy and parishioners, to raise funds for and awareness of the the project.
Bishop Paul Colton said:
In the midst of our own challenging times it is all too easy to lose sight of the commitments we have to others beyond our own shores. In Cork, Cloyne and Ross people of all ages have embraced and supported our Maize Project in Burundi from its outset in 2017. We are now in the second phase and through the visits of Archbishop Martin Blaise Nyaboha to us in 2017 and the Reverend Tony Murphy’s return visit in 2019, we all feel we know well what is needed from this important partnership.
I congratulate Tony on this initiative to walk 100km in May to raise funds for the project and, equally important, awareness of it. I hope everyone will do their best to support him generously.
Cork, Cloyne and Ross agreed to fund an agricultural development project in Burundi from 2017-2019 and then agreed to extend this support for a further 3 years from 2020-2022. The existing state of agriculture in Burundi has many problems, many of which existed in Ireland in the past. The farms are very small, the food is subsistence, the type of crop Cassava has low nutritional value, there is little access to finance to gain more land or improve the inputs. The project, in stages, which focuses on maize production, involves working with cooperatives, purchasing or renting land, training, providing storage, adding value by milling the maize into flour, expanding markets and, finally, obtaining ‘seed certification’ to a national standard so that it can be sold to other farmers and cooperatives.
The Rev. Tony Murphy was sponsored by the Diocese to visit the project in Burundi in 2019. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
Burundi is a country one third the size of Ireland: the third smallest on the African continent with Tanzania to its east and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west. It was governed by Belgium until 1962. A civil war ended with a peace treaty in 2000. The population of 11.9 million is 90% dependent on agriculture but the average farm size is 2 acres sustaining an average family of 6 people.
Pictured are, Andrew Coleman, Regional Fundraising Co-ordinator Christian Aid Ireland and Diocesan Bishops’ Appeal Representative, with the Rev Tony Murphy, at Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
The Burundi Maize Project, in partnership with Christian Aid (Ireland) and the Bishops’ Appeal: Church of Ireland World Aid and Development, works locally in Burundi with the Anglican Church in Burundi (a Church of 1 million members). The Archbishop of Burundi , the Most Reverend Martin Blaise Nyaboha visited Cork, Cloyne and Ross in 2017 at the start of the project.
The Archbishop of Burundi, The Most Reverend Martin Blaise Nyaboho, with the Bishop of Cork, the Right Reverend Dr. Paul Colton on the occasion os his visit to Cork, Cloyne and Ross in October 2017. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
You can follow Tony in the Diocese or join him (socially distanced) for part of his walk as follows:
1st May, Morning: Kilmocomogue (Durrus)
1st May, Afternoon: Kilmoe (Schull)
4th May, Morning: Ballydehob
4th May, Afternoon: Abbeystrewry (Skibbereen)
6th May, Morning: Rosscarbery
6th May, Afternoon: Kilgariffe (Clonakilty)
10th May: Bandon
11th May: Douglas
12th May: Carrigrohane
13th May: Mallow
15th May: Fanlobbus (Dunmanway)
17th May: Moviddy (Aherla)
18th May: Kinsale
19th May: From Saint Anne’s Shandon to Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral in Cork City
Ruth Wolfe, who has been part-time secretary to the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Dr Paul Colton, for almost the last 20 years retired on Friday 30th April, which was her last morning ‘in the office’.
Pictured is Ruth Wolfe, Secretary to The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross The Right Reverend Dr. Paul Colton, retiring after nearly 20 years service, at Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
Ruth has been working from home throughout the pandemic but the Bishop and she, together with colleagues from the Diocesan Office: Billy Skuse, Diocesan Secretary and Susan Perrott, Assistant Secretary, hailed each other from a distance in the forecourt outside St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, where the Bishop had left Ruth a flower arrangement and a gift for collection.
Pictured are, The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross The Right Reverend Dr. Paul Colton, Ruth Wolfe, Bishop’s Secretary, Billy Skuse, Diocesan Secretary and Susan Perrott, Assistant Diocesan Secretary. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
Bishop Colton said
It’s terrible we can’t even have coffee and a cake from The English Market together (as we so often did) to mark Ruth’s significant period of work alongside us all. Such, sadly, are some of the disappointments of the times in which we are living.
I would want Ruth and everyone to know, however, how much her work and solidarity has been appreciated, not only by me, but by everyone in the Diocese and further afield with whom she came into contact. She has been a model also of discretion and confidentiality, which is essential in support of the Bishop’s ministry and the work of the Diocese. Thank you, Ruth, so much for your work throughout the last 20 years.
At the meeting of the Diocesan Council of Cork, Cloyne and Ross on Wednesday 28th April, a motion recording admiration for Ruth and gratitude to her was passed unanimously by acclamation; acclamation which was no less sincere and enthusiastic just because it was emoji clapping hands on the screen of a ZOOM meeting. Strange times, indeed! Ruth will be missed. Thank you, Ruth!
Pictured are, The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross The Right Reverend Dr. Paul Colton and Ruth Wolfe, Bishop’s Secretary. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
George Quinn, a Diocesan Reader for the past nearly 33 years in the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross has indicated to the Bishop, Dr Paul Colton, his decision to retire from Reader ministry.
George Quinn
George was licensed as a Reader on the 18th December 1988 by Bishop Roy Warke in Saint Peter’s Church, Carrigrohane, then in County Cork, now in Cork City.
George recalls that he was the only one studying for the office at the time which in turn, at times, left him feeling isolated. George continues:
There, was always a warm welcome at each church and by the necessity of time constraints some all too brief chats with the churchwardens and members of the congregations which often showed their depth of faith as well as their care for one another and love of place. Over the years came a welcome change in worship when members of the congregation and particularly younger folk began to take the readings and intercessions.
George, who was a serving member of An Garda Síochána when he was licensed was, naturally, working shifts, so at the start of each year he forwarded the Sundays he would be available to take a Service to the Archdeacon of the day. George’s records show that he has taken Services in 65 churches in the Diocese including St Luke’s Home Chapel.
Thanking George, Bishop Paul Colton said:
I warmly thank George Quinn for his quiet and faithful ministry in the Diocese as a Reader for more than three decades. In thanking him I also thank Olive for her support of George in this voluntary work. It is thanks to the partnership of lay people like George that, together with the clergy of the Diocese, we are able to offer (in normal times) 65 Church Services, on average, every Sunday in Cork, Cloyne and Ross. This ministry is invaluable. I also take this opportunity to thank everyone who is involved in lay ministry in the Diocese.
On April 20th it was announced that groups of up to 15 can meet up for underage outdoor non-contact dance, music or arts activities. This presents an opportunity to begin the long process and hard work of rebuilding the Cathedral choir at Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork and no doubt, other cathedrals throughout Ireland.
The choristers of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral have been meeting up on Zoom on a weekly basis for several months, but in recent weeks the lack of personal interaction had been showing.
The announcement gave a fresh hope and on Monday 26th April the girl choristers met up in two separate groups for the first time this year. The labyrinth area of the Cathedral grounds seemed the most suitable spot, with walls on two sides to create some form of outdoor acoustic. One of those walls was of Library House – Cork’s first public library established by Bishop Peter Brown in the 1720s.
The weather that day was the nicest that had been seen for some time and this combination of factors brought a cheerful atmosphere to the occasion.
Some of the boy choristers of Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork meet outside to rehearse near the Cathedral Labyrinth (an appropriate place after all we have been through) to rehearse under the direction of Mr Peter Stobart.
Two days later the boys met up for a similar first session. Although it was less sunny, the same determination was shown and they tried out some music which had been learnt over the internet, but not sung together as a group. After a few minutes of warming up, their voices slowly began to emerge once again, and the strangeness of singing outdoors was put aside and their confidence grew. Several boys are now facing the challenge of changing voices and this brings a new chapter to their singing lives and to how they fit into the choir as a whole.It is early days in a long process of rebuilding the choir and its sound after a long fallow period, and it is difficult to guess when the choristers will return to singing for services once again. However, it is hoped that things will not take a step backwards and that, as restrictions are slowly eased, the singing will be able to continue and move indoors at some point in the near future.
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