Bishop will mark Centenaries of Bandon Valley Killings with Pastoral Visits to West Cork Parishes

Posted on April 22, 2022 by mediaccr

Next week (26th to 29th April 2022) will mark the centenaries of the Bandon Valley killings and the funerals which followed on those dates in 1922. The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Dr Paul Colton, has announced that he intends to mark the centenaries by making pastoral visits throughout next week to the parishes that were most closely affected by those events one hundred years ago.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Colm Kelleher, and the Mayor of County Cork, Councillor Gillian Coughlan, light the central candle during the Act of Remembrance in 2021.

Writing in the Cork, Cloyne and Ross Diocesan Magazine this month, Bishop Colton said that the historiography of that period and those events in the Bandon Valley ‘has been written about extensively and debated with different narratives, emotions and responses elicited.  Why it happened and what the motives of people were are elusive questions. What can we know with certainty at this remove? ‘

The Bishop emphasised, however, that at another level the facts were straightforward.  He wrote:

At one straightforward level what happened is clear.  In that week, 14 people were killed:  Michael O’Neill, Thomas Hornibrook, Samuel Hornibrook, Herbert Woods, James Buttimer, David Gray, Francis Fitzmaurice, Robert Howe, John Chinnery, Robert Nagle, Alexander Gerald McKinley, John Buttimer, James Greenfield and John Bradfield.  Two of those were 16 years of age and the oldest was 82.  Twelve were members of the Church of Ireland in this Diocese.  Attempts were made on others’ lives and they had to escape, many never to return.  We know that in the years that followed many people from Cork, Cloyne and Ross felt insecure in this part of the world and left.’

Announcing his approach to the centenaries Bishop Colton said:

I am not in a position to adjudicate on the historiography of that period.  As lead pastor in this Diocese today, however, my primary duty, having consulted with the local clergy, who have listened to descendants, is to ensure that in prayer and liturgy, these people and events are appropriately remembered in the context of this Decade of Centenaries.  With that in mind, as Bishop, I will be spending the octave of 24th April to 1st May 2022 on pastoral visits to the parishes which were caught up in those events one hundred years ago.

Since 2014 Cork, Cloyne and Ross has been commemorating the centenaries of the period 1914 to 2024 in a programme called the Cork, Cloyne and Ross Centenaries Commemoration and Reconciliation Project co-funded by the Church of Ireland Priorities’ Fund  One element of this was the creation of a memorial space for prayer and reflection was created in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork which from 2014 to 2018 commemorated Cork people who were killed or wounded in the First World War.  Since 2019, that space has been one of prayer and commemoration of those who died in the War of Independence and the Civil War. In 2021, led by the Lord Mayor of Cork, and the Mayor of Cork, County a Service was held to remember all those who died in Ireland during the War of Independence.

Posted in Centenaries Commemoration and Reconciliation Project, Centenaries in Ireland, Centenary, Cork Centenaries Commemoration and Reconciliation Project, Decade of Centenaries, History, Local History | Comments Off on Bishop will mark Centenaries of Bandon Valley Killings with Pastoral Visits to West Cork Parishes

110th commemoration of Titanic tragedy

Posted on April 21, 2022 by mediaccr

On 10th April, the Rector of Cobh & Glanmire Union of Parishes, the Rev. Canon Paul Arbuthnot, attended the annual commemoration for those who perished on the RMS Titanic. The Titanic’s last port of call was Queenstown / Cobh 110 years ago.

The commemoration took place in Cobh town centre and began with an act of worship and remembrance at the Titanic memorial in Pearse Square. The Rector led the prayers alongside the Roman Catholic clergy from Cobh Cathedral. After this, there was a wreath laying ceremony at the town’s Promenade for those who died in the tragedy.

The Revd Canon Paul Arbuthnot commented:

This tragedy is woven into the consciousness of Cobh and the commemoration of it is an important event in the town’s civic calendar. It is a day when we remember before God not only those who died on that terrible day, but all who risk their lives in their work on the sea.

The Rev. Canon Paul Arbuthnot, and Fr Paul Bennett (Cobh Cathedral) who led the act of worship at the annual Titanic commemoration.
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Pupils of St Luke’s Montenotte raise over €8k for Ukraine Supports

Posted on April 20, 2022 by mediaccr

79 pupils in St Luke’s NS, O’Mahoney’s Avenue raised over €8k to be donated to the renovation of eight vacant houses at Kingston College. These renovated houses will accommodate at least eight Ukrainian families.

This initiative was a culmination of the student’s Lenten Project – to reach out to others. They choose to support the people of Ukraine by arranging a sponsored walk and a school breakfast. The students were encouraged and guided by school staff and supported by their parents.

The staff of St. Luke’s National School thank the main breakfast sponsors, The Address Hotel  and O’Mahony Brothers Fruit & Veg.

The principal, Ms. Jacqueline Collier, commented:

We agreed with  Diocesan secretary, Billy Skuse, that Fifth & Sixth classes would visit Mitchelstown in May and help plant a garden at one of the renovated homes. This will provide the pupils with an opportunity to see, first hand, what their donation has contributed to. Congratulations to everyone for this amazing achievement.

Posted in Charity Work, Fund-Raising, Schools in the Diocese, Ukraine crisis | Comments Off on Pupils of St Luke’s Montenotte raise over €8k for Ukraine Supports

Triduum and Easter at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral

Posted on April 19, 2022 by mediaccr

St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork, returned back to the traditional series of services for the Triduum – the three days before Easter Sunday – and Easter.

The Dean of Cork, the Very Rev. Nigel Dunne commented:

It was wonderful to return to almost normal for the Holy Week and Easter services here at the Cathedral. You know that some of the liturgies have worked well when you hear reports of people leaving in tears in solidarity with Christ’s suffering and those who suffer in the world today. And, even more heartening was the large and diverse turnout on Easter Day and the palpable sense of hope and joy among the worshippers after the services.

The service of Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, the betrayal of Jesus and ends with the ‘Watch’ in the garden of Gethsemane with the Cathedral in total darkness.

On Good Friday, the choir sang a setting of the Passion of Jesus according to St John by T.L. Victoria at the foot of the cross. In the evening there was further reflection on the crucifixion story using ‘Crucifixus pro nobis’ by Kenneth Leighton and ‘Lo, the Full Final Sacrifice’ by Gerald Finzi.

The Vigil on Easter Eve is a service going from darkness to light, including the lighting of the Paschal Candle and the renewal of baptism vows, followed by the first Eucharist of Easter.

On Easter Sunday itself, Bishop Paul Colton presided and preached at the Festival Eucharist.

Photos by Eoin Murphy @artfotoglobal

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Annual Diocesan Chrism Eucharist back after two years

Posted on April 15, 2022 by mediaccr

After an absence of two years, the annual Chrism Eucharist in in Cork, Cloyne and Ross was finally held again this year on Maundy Thursday at Noon in Saint Fachtna’s Cathedral, Rosscarbery, County Cork. 

From left to right: the Archdeacon, the Ven. Adrian Wilkinson, the Bishop’s Chaplain, the Rev. Anne Skuse, the Right Rev. Dr Richard Clarke, the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Rev. Dr Paul Colton, the Right Rev. Harold Miller, the Rev. Carole Pound, the Rev. John Ardis, currently priest in charge of Ross Union.

People from all over the diocese gathered yesterday to celebrate together, to renew their commitment to their ministry, and for the blessing of the oils used in the pastoral and sacramental aspects of their ministry in the coming year.

  • The congregation at the Chrism Eucharist
  • Bishop Harold Miller and Lay Readers of the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross.
  • Bishop Richard Clarke and Lay Readers of the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross.
  • The Rev. Carole Pound reading the Gospel.
  • The First Reading
  • The Second Reading
  • Priests and Lay Readers during the service

Following the celebration of the Eucharist everyone was invited by Bishop Paul Colton and Susan Colton to enjoy lunch together at the Celtic Ross Hotel, before heading back to their own places to begin the most solemn three days – known as the Triduum – in the Church’s calendar.

  • The Dean of Cork, the Very Rev. Nigel Dunne and the Dean of Cloyne, the Very Rev. Susan Green.

The preacher this year was the Right Rev. Harold Miller, former Bishop of the Diocese of Down and Dromore in Northern Ireland. The organist was the Director of Music at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork, Mr Peter Stobart.

  • Bishop Harold Miller giving his sermon.
  • Bishops Harold Miller and Paul Colton after the service.
  • After the service.
  • The Archdeacon, the Ven. Adrian Wilkinson
  • Bishop Paul waiting for his guests at the Celtic Ross Hotel.
  • The Rev. Anne Skuse and the Diocesan Secretary Billy Skuse.
  • The Diocesan Youth Officer, Hilda Connolly.
  • The Rev. John Ardis, currently priest in charge of Ross Union of Parishes.
  • Lay Readers and Priests gathering outside Ross Cathedral before the service.
  • The Rev. Robert Ferris.
  • The Rev. Kingsley Sutton, the Rev. Tony Murphy and the Rev. Cliff Jeffers.
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