Aughaval Group of Parishes

Members and congregation of Holy Trinity Westport with the Church of Ireland Bishop of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe, the Right Rev'd Michael Burrows, were humbled and honoured on Sunday 16th February to be welcomed again, and warmly, by Fr John Kenny and St Mary's Church, Westport, where Michael our bishop celebrated the Sacrament of Holy Communion.   It was a special occasion, in which the strap line "United in Spirit, Together in Prayer" seemed most apt. Our sincere thanks to Fr John and to Bishop Francis, Tuam Archdiocese.  We are also grateful to St Mary's for accommodating the fundraising Recital by Dublin Choral Union coming up on Sunday 2nd March at 1.30pm (after the 12 noon Holy Trinity service in St Mary's Church, and tea in Carrowbeg House).   Photos (barr the last two), courtesy of St Mary's Church. Bishop Michael, Revd Suzanne and Church Wardens Tom and Roger,  with Fr John and sacristans Peter and Noreen.               ...

  It was especially joyful for a few of us from mainland Mayo to step foot again on Inishbiggle on 15th February, having been prevented by the weather from sailing on our last attempt at the end of November 2024. While on this occasion it was lashing in Limerick, wet in Westport, and raining cats and dogs in Castlebar, the sun was splitting the clouds gloriously on the approach to beautiful Biggle. Also uplifting was to arrive at the church and on entering to find it looking, if not transfigured, transformed - for example, with its newly-stripped and repolished pews, clean floors, doors, harmonica and walls, and a close-to-spotless vestry into the bargain. Hats off and enormous thanks to the church wardens for the hours of painstaking work - truly a labour of love for this precious and important place of gathering and worship, emanating from a sincere love for God and his people, of all faiths and persuasions. Holy Trinity Inishbiggle conveys the message “Come on in! There’s plenty...

 What an engaging and educational evening we had in Christ Church Castlebar on Thursday 13 February, with a lecture delivered by Dr Michael O’Connor to mark The 200th Anniversary of the Decision to Rebuild Christ Church Castlebar. This lecture had been planned for November but had had to be postponed at that time due to snow and icy conditions underfoot. The turnout on this rescheduled occasion was especially good considering the inclement weather. Many of those people present came with substantial knowledge of Castlebar town and the history of the parish, yet all were in agreement that Dr O’Connor’s research presented fresh insights and raised some interesting questions; for example, Was the church renovated or rebuilt following the infamous fire? How was the fire started? Was the church always surrounded by its present day boundary wall? What about the in-filled window in the tower area, over the church’s main internal entrance? And more. The audience was also treated to a slides...