Saturday night, August 28th, was a historic occasion in Barryroe when the parish church was rededicated in a ceremony where the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr John Buckley, was the Chief Concelebrant at the mass, assisted by fathers Eoin Whooley PP, Pat Stevenson PP, Paddy Hickey PP, Richard Hurley PP, Jim Hurley Cssp and Peter Queally Cssp.The ceremony opened with Johnny O’Brien (chairman of the Parish Assembly) speaking from the pulpit, having welcomed everybody, explaining the nature of the structural work that was carried out in the church and its precincts during the past year, which involved a new floor and tiling, plastering and painting the walls, replacing the entrance doors and organ loft, refurbishing the sanctuary, seats and windows, and laying out the grounds around the church.
It was fitting, he said, that the ceremony was taking place on the feast of St Augustine, as many men from the parish were Augustinians, who also contributed much to the education of some local students.
He expressed a special welcome for the Deputy Mayor of County Cork, John O’Sullivan (one of our own) and his wife Deirdre (the deputy mayoress), who were both seated in a reserved pew in front of the altar.
After the bishop, fronted by the priests and altar servers, entered the church through the great west door and proceeded up through the main aisle, he blessed the altar and sanctuary with incense and holy water.
After this eight parishioners brought up the gifts to the bishop and during the mass a similar number read the prayers of the faithful.
During the course of his homily, parish priest Fr Whooley, having thanked the bishop for his attendance, and all those who had subscribed so generously and those who had worked in the church over the year, went on to describe some of the contents of a ledger that he found in the Parochial House, belonging to Fr Moloney, PP, when the church was opened in 1871.
Resilience
Pence and halfpennies were very much the order of the day at the time and it’s a tribute to the resilience of the people who, so soon after the Famine, rose to such massive expenditure at the time.
Bishop Buckley in a brief address paid a glowing tribute to the priests and people of the parish for supporting the refurbishment of this magnificent church. Barryroe, he said, had always been to the forefront in every walk of life and it was only natural that they would rise to the occasion in maintaining and preserving the ‘house of God’ in the parish.
The combined Barryroe and Courtmacsherry choirs rendered some excellent and appropriate hymns for the occasion and in a concluding note, Sean de Barra gave an address on behalf of the people of the parish, covering the history of the church since its erection.
He spoke to a great extent in Irish, which was very appropriate since Barryroe was largely Irish speaking in 1871, and Fr Moloney was a strong advocate of the Irish language. After the proceedings in the church concluded, all present were treated to a reception in the local school, where the bishop in jovial mood mingled with the attendance.
The work in the building of Barryroe Church lasted two years (nearly to the day) and evoked an inspiring response from the parishioners. Nearly £3,000 had been subscribed before the work began.
Special sermons preached by the pastor, Fr Jeremiah Moloney, in the city and country parishes brought in handsome collections. He also contracted to finish the ‘New Line’ from Courtmacsherry to Lislevane, which had been started as a Famine relief scheme.
The work was done by voluntary labour and the money earned went into the building fund.
Crowds of men with horses spent over three months drawing stone from the quarries in Courtmacsherry. Important materials (bath stone, etc) were landed in Courtmacsherry from the schooner Thomas and Anne and other local vessels.
On Sunday June 18th, 1871, mass was celebrated for the last time in the old church in Lislevane.
The people then formed in procession, on their way to the new church and they passed the cabin by the stream where their fathers worshipped God in the open air.
Celebrated
Bishop O’Hea celebrated mass and spoke in Irish, and dedicated the church to St Mary Star of the Sea.
The choir sang an anthem expressly written for the occasion by the celebrated poet, Denis Florence McCarthy of the Catholic University.
During the ceremony parish priest Fr Jeremiah Moloney presented an inscribed silver salver to the local landlord, Jonas Travers of Butlerstown House, who donated the site and supplied labour during its construction.
So the ecumenical spirit was evident in Barryroe long before Vatican Two. The first mission in the new church, in July 1873, was conducted partly in Irish by the Jesuits, assisted by Bishop O’Hea, as Barryroe was largely Irish speaking at the time, as noted earlier, and Fr Moloney was an enthusiastic advocate of the language.
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