The Parish of Saint Catherine & Saint James with Saint Audoen
Canon Mark Gardner Tel: 01 454 2274 Mobile 087 266 0228
Email: markgardner@eircom.net
Diocesan Lay Reader: James Kilbey
Review Distribution: Margery Bell Tel: 01 4542067
Website: cja.dublin.anglican.org
Organist: Harry Meehan
Irish Times Church Notices (online only)
St Audoen’s Cornmarket, 10.00 Eucharist (every Sunday) During works, access is through the OPW Visitor Centre.
St Catherine & St James, Donore Avenue, 11.30 Eucharist (every Sunday, with exceptions).
December in Donore Avenue
The Church was beautifully decorated for the Carol Service, and mince pies were provided afterwards. We are most grateful to the faithful few who put up a Christmas Tree full of colour, and seasonal foliage with other decorations and lights filling shelves and windowsills. Readers ranged from little Emma Ogbata to her father Cletus, of Donore Avenue, as well as Brian Honer, both of them Churchwardens, Irene Wilson-Power and Margery Bell, who have a long-standing connection with the Church, and Jo Mathews, who with her daughter Rosie are new members of the congregation. Our friend and neighbour John Lawlor represented Scouting Ireland.
Eileen Walsh
We learnt with regret that our former sexton and School caretaker has died. Her husband Ken and her son Brian both died some time ago. It was her wish in retirement to return to the place where she had come from, and to hear again the distinctive Irish spoken in that area, where she was laid to rest after service in Westport Parish Church. A local guide is informative. ‘In the Irish language Tourmakeady (Tuar Mhic Éadaigh) means ‘the bleach field of MacCeadaigh’, where linen was bleached. Tourmakeady is still famous for its textile industry, and Gaeltarra Knitwear sweaters are to be found in all the world’s best known fashion centres. Tourmakeady is only a small townland located within the largest Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) region in Ireland. It is situated between the Partry Mountains and Lough Mask in County Mayo and close to Croagh Patrick, the Holy Mountain associated with Saint Patrick. The parish extends from Dereendafderg (the little oak wood of the red ox) to Derrypark (the field of the oak), which gives clues that in ancient times Tourmakeady was covered in oak forest.’
Office of Public Works
St Audoen’s Church Visitor Centre celebrated its 20th anniversary in July and Wednesday 4 December guides past and present gathered to mark this occasion and to mark the end of our most successful season to date. Twenty years is nothing when compared with the 829 years St Audoen’s has been standing, but nevertheless we wanted to celebrate twenty years of welcoming visitors to this wonderfully historic site. We’ve gone from fewer than 1000 visitors in 1999 to more than 36,000 in 2019. We were delighted to be joined by Canon Mark Gardner of St Audoen’s Parish Church and Ana Dolan, Senior Architect, National Monuments Division, OPW. A lovely night was had by us all. There was lashings of tea, a feast fit for a king (thanks to Visitor Services) and many, many hours of talk and reminiscing, and being guides, there was never a gap in the conversation. Perhaps our collective noun should be a ‘chatter’ of guides!
Tony Dolan
Artist at work
Paul Abell, the Dublin artist, has painted a much admired picture of St Audoen’s, displayed in the Church. Despite his years he also makes use of his hands in voluntary work in Scribante Construction, as an excavator and bulldozer operator, in the vicinity of Johannesburg, South Africa. He and his wife have for many years been best friends and helpers to a member of the congregation at St Catherine & St James.
He has completed a new work entitled ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull.’ He writes: ‘My first fundraising painting for 2020 in aid of Capuchin Day Centre and Mellon Educate. It’s acrylic on canvas 300mm x 200mm. This painting was inspired by the horrific poverty I saw first hand in Mfuleni township as part of the Mellon Educate building blitz just a few weeks ago. We (300 volunteers) built one primary school and one secondary school in this township while in South Africa. 2900 impoverished children will attend these schools in 2020 and again each year thereafter spreading hope and the possibility of a much better future for these beautiful children. I painted this composition in the total personal belief that some of these children, who will attend these schools, just like Jonathan Livingston Seagull will rise to unimaginable heights in the future and help smash the cycle of extreme poverty into which they were born. This painting is available at offers above €250. Message me if interested. Why above €250? You get a tax break. Payment can be made to Mellon Educate or Capuchin Day Centre.’
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