An exhibition in honour of St Mel's Cathedral, through the mediums of art, writing and photography, will take place at Longford County Library from June 7 - July 23. Speaking this week to the Longford Leader newspaper County Librarian, Mary Carleton-Reynolds said that it is proposed to hold the exhibition to tell the story of the Cathedral from its foundation to its ill-fated ruination on Christmas morning last when a fire gutted its beautiful interior.
“The purpose of this exhibition is to tell the story of the Cathedral from its foundation to the present day and to give everybody in the local community an opportunity to share their memories of this magnificent building which holds such a special place in the hearts of the local community,” explained Ms Carleton-Reynolds.
“The exhibition will consist of three parts. Part one will include the history of the Cathedral, which will cover all the major milestones in its 170-year existence from the laying of the foundation stone by Bishop O'Higgins in 1840.”
“The second part will include the local community's memories of St Mel's. It is an opportunity for everybody here in Longford, from schoolchildren to older people, to express in words what the Cathedral means to them.”
She continued, “Already many people have written and sent letters, articles or poems to the Bishop, to the priests of Templemichael, and to local media, expressing their feelings or memories about St. Mel's and so we feel that this will provide a very fitting tribute to the beautiful Cathedral.”
“The third part will provide people with an update on what has been happening at St Mel's Cathedral from when the terrible disaster struck in the early hours of Christmas Day 2009.”
A working group will oversee the organisation and management of the exhibition and members include diocesan archivist, Fr Tom Murray; county archivist, Martin Morris; heritage officer, Mairead Ni Conghaile and library staff.
“Our objective is to give the community here in Longford from the very young to the very old an opportunity to find out more about this beautiful building which holds such a special place in the heart of the whole community,” she said.
“We want to encourage anyone who would like to share their own memories or memorabilia on St. Mel's with us. Their contribution will be included in the exhibition and everything that is received by us, like a photograph, a poem, a painting or a letter, will be gratefully acknowledged. We would like to thank the people who have already donated paintings and photographs, which will be sold, and all proceeds will be donated to the St. Mel's Cathedral fund.”
She finished by saying, “We also hope that the Longford Diaspora spread around the globe will get an opportunity to have a virtual tour of the exhibition on our website www.longfordlibrary.ie or when they come home on holidays.”
All contributions to this exhibition should be given to the staff at Longford County Library no later than May 15.
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