40th anniversary of Offaly 'church of noble simplicity' celebrated with book launch

THE 40th anniversary of the opening of Our Lady Queen of Ireland Church in Rathcabbin was celebrated with a Mass of thanksgiving and the launch of a beautiful book on Sunday November 23rd.
Chief celebrant at the Mass was Bishop Fintan Monahan who said he was delighted to be present to celebrate the church's Ruby jubilee.
Bishop Monahan told the congregation that he attended the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica two weeks previously. He pointed out that the Lateran Basilica is located near the Irish College in Rome and is the mother church of all churches in the world.
He said the people of Rathcabbin have a very special Teach an Phobail. “A Teach an Phobail is a sacred place, a meeting place between us and God,” he remarked, “a place of sanctuary, of respite from the hustle and bustle around us. It has been this for the last 41 years since it opened in 1984. Today is also marking the launch of the book 'The Soul of Dorrha, the Spirit of Rathcabbin'. It's a wonderful, expansive book which I strongly recommend to everyone. A huge array of subjects are covered in its pages, including the early saints associated with this region, including St Ruadhán and St Aodh; the building of St Flannan's Church in 1797 and its many years of service prior to being replaced by Our Lady Queen of Ireland Church, other churches in the region, some of the region's many historical events, Rathcabbin Players, and North Tipperary Ploughing.”
The Bishop pointed out that the building of “this church was and is a testament to the great faith that exists in this area.”
He said the Church is a beautifully designed building which has a noble simplicity. Items such as the tabernacle, the sanctuary lamp and the modernising of the statues from the previous St Flannan's Church, blend in harmoniously. It is a building filled with light, a building pleasantly embraced by the outside world of the village with its buildings and sky. It is an expression of the spirit of Vatican 2. “As we sit inside,” the Bishop said, “the sweeping upwards of the ceiling gives us a feeling of our prayers sweeping upwards, travelling towards God.”
He mentioned some of the former priests of the area, who had been so important and so influential. They included Fr Martin Ryan and Fr Tom Seymour.
He recalled the massive fundraising effort in the early '80s to raise funds for the construction of the new church. €300,000 had to be raised, which is equivalent to about €1 million today. At the time the parish had a £24,000 debt hanging above it, an eye watering sum. As a matter of interest, the unemployment rate in Ireland in 1981 was 10%. It would rise to a peak of over 17% in 1986.
The Finance Committee responsible for raising the funds included representatives from Rathcabbin, Redwood and Lorrha, who became known locally as “the twelve apostles”. They were Matt John Gormally, Denis Duffy, John Fallon, Johnny Brophy (Rathcabbin), Mary Lane, Lar Gleeson, Martin Hough and Michael Houlihan (Redwood), Aileen Mahon, Louis McCormack, Fintan Dolan and Paddy Dermody (Lorrha). The fundraisers included Birr Bingo; Guest Teas in the Westpark Hotel in Portumna and the County Arms Hotel in Birr; a Calf Rearing Scheme; Fun Days; and the Big Draw.
Bishop Monahan also mentioned the 19th century Bell that had rung for many years in St Flannan's Church. He pointed out that bells in the monastic tradition were believed to be the Vox Dei.
The Bishop said he was particularly taken, when reading “The Soul of Dorrha,” with Bishop Michael Harty's speech during the official opening of the church on June 17th, 1984. The 450-seat church was packed for the opening. Bishop Harty said it was the 13th new church to open in the Diocese of Killaloe in the previous 15 years. In the previous eight years the local community had not only built the new church in Rathcabbin but had also renovated the churches in Lorrha and Redwood and modernised three primary schools.
“In the face of such extraordinary achievements at local level,” commented Bishop Harty, “I remain optimistic that a country so rich in community enterprise must be capable of solving its national problems in the social, economic and political spheres...This is a wayside church in a very literal sense, opening out into the village and public road and beckoning all to its warm welcome.”
In the years to come it would be their special church, with babies crying at Baptism, the joys and sorrows of marriages and funerals; with friendly talks as they assembled faithfully for Mass; with the movement of feet as they approached the altar to receive communion; with the click of the Confessional door as they received “the mercy of God in the sacrament of Penance; and the clear sound of the Angelus Bell calling us to a refreshing moment of prayer in field and kitchen.” The year to come would include “the car casually parked outside or the bicycle thrown against a wall because someone dropped in to say a prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in this welcoming, wayside church.”
The Mass of celebration coincided with the Feast of Christ the King. One of the Readings was from St Paul's letter to the Colossians, which teaches that God intended all fullness and perfection to be found in Jesus Christ. The Gospel reading was from Luke and focussed on the thieves' differing responses to Christ while all three are being crucified. “Aren't you the Christ?” says one of the thieves, cynically. “Save yourself and us!”
At the end of the Mass the book was officially launched by Damien O'Meara of RTE Sport. In a humorous and wide-ranging speech, Damien pointed out that while he has lived for many years in Dublin there is a special place in his heart for this part of North Tipperary because his family originally came from there and he had spent much time in the region. “When I was very young I was told that I was one of the O'Mearas of The Pike. It is 50 years since my Dad bought a house in Clontarf but there is still a very strong connection to this part of the world." He warmly praised the many people who had worked on the new book. “I cannot commend enough the effort put into this publication. It contains a mind-blowing amount of information. Everyone involved has done a great service for the community.”
Fr Tom O'Halloran, Co-PP, warmly thanked the many people associated with organising this day of celebration and with publishing the book. He thanked the choir for once again doing such a good job. He thanked Eamonn O'Meara, the Convenor of the book, who brought all the articles and photographs together. He said the book is a “kaleidoscope of memories and local history in the Dorrha/Rathcabbin side of Lorrha and Dorrha Parish. When we first met to discuss the idea of such a publication, we realised that we were already late by a year, but there's something about a fortieth anniversary that we felt would not be there for us by a Golden Jubilee. There were still fresh memories...Central to our journey was celebrating a modern church, apparently indeed ultra-modern, but as we will see rooted in the history of the area.”
He praised Eamonn O'Meara for his motivational skills and Peter Seman for his IT and production skills. He thanked Lorrha and Dorrha Parish Pastoral Council and its Chairperson Oliver Duggan for funding the publication.
The final word went to co-celebrant Rev Arthur Minion. Rev Arthur said there was a beautiful sense of community in the church during the celebration. He said this sense of community while celebrating the liturgy was a great gift which we should always cherish. When the world can sometimes seem a dark and unpleasant place, our Teach Phobail, our community in celebration, can be a light shining in the gloom.
Book Committee Members: David Broderick, John Brophy, Maria Brophy, Michael Brophy, Eamon Dermody, Kathleen Gleeson, James Heenan, Martin Hough, Louis McCormack, Thomas Needham, Fr Tom O'Halloran, Eamonn O'Meara, Peter Seman, Marguerite Walsh.

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