Carrick-on-Suir Development Association has sold the Carrickbeg based church building to the Malankara (Indian) Orthodox Church.
The new church will serve as a place of worship for the Indian Orthodox community in south Tipperary and neighbouring regions.
It will also be a cultural and community hub for the region’s Indian Orthodox population, many of whom live in Clonmel and are working at Tipperary University Hospital.
Niall Walsh, Chairman of Carrick Development Association, formally handed over the keys of Carrick’s former Friary Church to Fr Mathew Kuttenchira Mathew a few weeks ago.
The special occasion was also attended by a number of locally based families who are members of of the Indian Orthodox Church.
Mr Walsh said COSDA was delighted to hand over the former Friary church building to its new owner.
“They will give the building a new lease of life and keep it open,” he explained.
Mr Walsh pointed out it was very important to COSDA that a new use for the Friary was found to save it from becoming derelict and vandalised.
The Franciscan Friary in Carrickbeg closed on Easter Saturday, 2006 due to falling vocations, ending 680 years of the Frianciscan Order’s presence in the town.
The Franciscans donated the church to Carrick-on-Suir Development Association in 2007.
In the intervening years, the building has hosted art exhibitions during the town’s annual Clancy Brothers Festival and Tipperary Education & Training Board courses. It served as a Catholic Church again while St Molleran’s Parish Church across the street was undergoing renovations in 2016/2017.
The building hadn't been used since the Covid pandemic and was put up for sale by COSDA in December last year.
Mr Walsh points out the new owners will maintain the graveyard around the church and the grounds will remain open for people to visit the graves of loved ones.
Preparatory works, meanwhile, are currently underway at the former Franciscan church to convert it into an Orthodox Christian church.
The Malankara Orthodox Church said a blessing or dedication ceremony for the new church will be announced once these initial tasks are completed.
“This occasion is expected to bring together members of the Indian Orthodox community and local residents, marking a significant milestone in the area’s spiritual and cultural landscape,” the church said in a statement.
The Malankara Orthodox Church was established by St Thomas in India in the 1st Century AD. Its presence in Ireland began in the 1970s with a small number of families, primarily medical professionals.
St Kuriakose Indian Orthodox Congregation was founded this year and Fr Mathew was appointed its priest-in-charge.
The church is named in honour of the early Christian martyrs, St Kuriakose and his mother St. Julitta.