Rochfortbridge church celebrating 150 years

On Friday evening last, local parishioners at Rochfortbridge came together to celebrate mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception on its 150th anniversary.Bishop Michael Smith said mass on what was a very special occasion for all in the community. Afterwards, everyone went back to the parish hall for tea and sandwiches, and a bit of a chinwag about the special occasion.Fr. Stan Deegan PP said he was delighted to see such a large crowd turn out to celebrate the anniversary.'There are all ages here and they are enjoying it. It makes all the hard work before this special night worth it,' he said.Priests from the neighbouring parishes joined in the celebrations, coming from Ballinabrackey, Castletown and Mullingar, and also two native priests of parish, Monsignor MacCoakley, who is a retired parish priest in Glasgow, and Fr. Martin Farrelly.Fr. Deegan, who has been the Parish Priest in Rochfortbridge for the past 11 years, says there is a tremendous community spirit in Rochfortbridge, as was proven with the preparations leading up to the 150th anniversary celebrations.'On an occasion like this people are very happy to get involved, whether it"s getting the hall ready or doing a bit of baking or helping out at the Mass, people are always willing to help.'Speaking about the endurance of the church over the past 150 years, Fr. Deegan said: 'I know a lot of things have changed over the last 150 years, but I"m sure there will still be a great sense of importance about the church in another 150 years. The numbers might be less but we hope that there will still be a great value and sense of importance about the church. I won"t see the next 150th anniversary, but somebody will look to back on this very occasion, and say that we did this 150 years ago.'Looking back on the history of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the church has had various renovations over the years. During the ministry of Fr. McKeever, £500 was spent on renovating the church, and the magnificent stained glass window at the back of the altar is the work of renowned artist Harry Clarke in the early part of the last century.At one time, there was a chapel for the Sisters of Mercy to one side of the altar and a Priest"s Vestry on the other. These were removed during extensive renovations which were presided over by Fr. Eamonn O"Brien in 1988. New side aisles were put in place, which contain beautiful stained glass by Abbey Stained Glass Studios. A vestry was built at the back of the church and further refurbishment was carried out under the guidance of Fr. Stan Deegan in 2005.The story of how the Church of the Immaculate Conception came to be built originally is an interesting one. In the sixth century, the Tyrell family made Castlelost the religious centre of their demense and built a church there. The church fell into disrepair after the Cromwellian settlement and difficult times of religious persecution ensued.People were evicted from their homes, priests were exiled and sacrificed their lives for their faith. Priests began to disguise themselves as labourers and offered mass at a Mass Rock, which was close to the site of the church at Castlelost. Then, in the second half of the eighteen and nineteenth centuries, people attended mass at Meedin and Milltown.In 1850, Fr. Gerald Robbins was appointed Parish Priest of the parish. He acquired a former public house in the village and converted it for use as a Parochial House. This house now stands as the entrance to the gymnasium of St. Joseph"s School. Fr. Robbins was given a gift of land on which to build a church by a Protestant businessman named Mr. Fielding. In 1857, the Church of the Immaculate Conception was built. Richard Charles Coffey of Newcastle House provided funding for the church and Dr. John Cantwell, Bishop of Meath, dedicated it on October 17, 1858.Local historian and Principal of Coralstown NS, Danny Dunne gave us the following background information.'The institution of the penal laws in the late 1600"s were designed to prevent any more uprising among the Catholic Irish. One of the methods used in this prevention was to slowly eradicate the Catholicism priesthood out of the country,' he said.'In 1710, the clergy were called to take the dreaded Oath of Abjuration. This oath called on them to denounce their faith publicly. Of the 1080 priests who were registered only 37 took the oath. One quarter of these were from Westmeath where nine of them decided to conform within the law,' he continued.'Among them was Reverend Anthony Coughlan who ministered in the old manorial parish of Castlelost. At the time of registration he was forty five years of age and lived in Farthingstown, Rochfortbridge. Another priest Bryan Murtagh did not take the oath and he ministered to the faithful at Carrick, Clonfad, Enniscoffey and Pass of Kilbride. He was ordained in 1679 in Prague by John Waltayne Archbishop of Prague. It is not known where Bryan resided, as it was obvious that during his ministry he lived in secret.'Anthony Coughlan"s taking of the Oath of Abjuration resulted in the establishment of the early Catholic Parish of Meedin and Milltown. He was abandoned by his flock and the little Norman Manorial Chapel at Castlelost was abandoned and he was boycotted and ostracised by his flock. The local people then proceeded to the nearest available priest Byan Murtagh who ministered at Clonfad (Meedin) and Pass of Kilbride (Milltownpass). This parish structure would remain in place until the shortly after the famine,' said Danny Dunne.'Towards the end of the 18th century chapels were built at Meedin and Milltown. With the relaxation of the penal laws in the second half of the 18th century, the local priest came to live at West Lodge a country house half way between Meedin and Milltown and West Lodge was for many years the Parochial House of the Parish.'From 1784 till 1825, the Dominican Priests of Meedin and Milltown belonged to a local Catholic family named Coffey. The last of these was Revd. Bernard Coffey who died in 1825. Father Timothy Shanley became Parish Priest in 1825, a native of Drumnraney, he was born in 1781 and entered Maynooth in 1800. The coming of Father Shanley to Rochfortbridge was a milestone in local Catholic Church history as he was the first Irish educated priest to minister in the parish since the late Middle Ages.'While Parish Priest, he befriended Richard Coffey of Newcastle, a wealthy Catholic landowner who would later fund substantial development in the parish. The little Chapel at Meedin was replaced by his generosity and opened in 1831. Father Shanley would later be ridiculed by the authorities and even Anthony Cogan in his history of the Diocese of Meath for taking an ornate stone doorway and window from the old Church at Castlelost and including it in the building of Meedin Church. To Father Shanley, this was probably seen as a gesture of returning the faithful to their ancient past.'Father Shanley died in 1835 and is buried at Carrick. He was held in such high esteem, that local people pay homage to him at his grave every Good Friday.'The first move came towards the establishment of Rochfortbridge village as the Parish centre came when the next parish Priest Father Roan, left West Lodge and moved to live with relatives in Rochfortbridge. In 1850, Father Timothy Robbins became Parish Priest. In 1865, he acquired a house on the main street of Rochfortbridge and this house would serve as Parochial House until the 1980"s.'In 1858, the Church of The Immaculate Conception was built on a site donated by a local Protestant businessman William Fielding.'The old Penal Church at Milltownpass was replaced in 1879 and dedicated to St. Joseph by Bishop Cantwell in 1883.During his Ministry Father Robbins saw the construction of National Schools and the infrastructures which were he foundations of the present Parish structures. Rochfortbridge parish today has three Churches, The Church of the Immaculate Conception and two parish Churches of Ease at Meedin and Milltown,' Danny Dunne concluded.