(Compiled by the late Paddy Scott and Pat Carville)
A decision, prompted by deeply felt pastoral concern, made by Bishop Patrick McAlister, at his home in Chichester Park, Belfast, in the 1880’s, may justly claim to have laid the foundation of the development and social changes for the betterment of the Catholic community in North Belfast today.
The decision was to procure land in the Antrim Road district on which to build a chapel-of-ease to cater for the spiritual needs of the growing Catholic population, especially for the Catholic girls in domestic service in the big houses with extensive grounds, erected by prosperous merchants, newly rich businessmen who, either through marriage, industrial opportunism, government preferment or success in trade, enjoyed the affluence of Victorian Belfast. These mansions were on secluded sites “having the most desirable aspects and surroundings” in the fashionable and expanding Antrim Road, Fortwilliam Park, Cliftonville and Cavehill Roads.
The domestic servants, most of whom came from the country and working ‘upstairs-downstairs’ hours and conditions of the times, had great difficulty in getting to Mass on Sundays and Holydays of Obligation at St. Patrick’s in Donegall Street or St. Mary’s in Greencastle.
Bishop McAlister realised the position of workers and residents alike in a developing district when, at the age of sixty, he took up residence in ‘The Palace’, Chichester Park, Antrim Road, as successor to Dr. Patrick Dorrian, Bishop of Down and Connor, on March 28th 1886 – a vital year in the stormy history of Belfast. It was the worst year of sectarian and political riots in which ‘Home Rule – Rome Rule’ slogans were freely used by thumping politicians , lay and clerical, in what poet W.R. Rodgers called ‘their borborygmic roars of rhetoric’.
The new Bishop took up his Office having served for twenty years in Ballycastle as Parish Priest, and before that as a Curate in several Parishes in Connor and Down. Therefore he had vast pastoral and administrative experience and a tremendous vision for the future reorganisation of the Diocese. Within a year he established St. Patrick’s Orphan Society and the Association of the Apostleship of Prayer. He founded the Mater Hospital and helped set up The Irish News. He established independent Parishes in Holywood, Whitehouse and Ballyclare, and during his time the Sacred Heart and St. Brigid’s churches were built. His last, and it is said ‘most special’ act as Bishop was, when his health was failing, to lay the foundation stone of The Holy Family “zinc” church in Newington Avenue, on a cold October day in 1894.
He had set his heart on officially opening the first church in Northern Ireland dedicated to ‘The Holy Family’ in compliance with the wishes of Pope Leo XIII who called for universal devotion to The Holy Family and on June 14th 1893 granted anew Office and Mass in honour of The Holy Family. But three days before the ailing Bishop was to open the new church with Mass on Christmas morning, a hurricane swept the country leaving a trail of death and destruction. The Antrim Road suffered severely from the gale force winds which lashed the area for several hours and all but demolished the new church. By the time the building was restored, Bishop McAlister was too ill to take part in the opening ceremony on St. Patrick’s Day 1895. He died nine days later on March 26th.
Seventeen years were to pass before the red brick church at Newington, which replaced the original “zinc” building, was solemnly dedicated on Sunday, September 8th, 1912, by the then Bishop, Most Rev Dr John Tohill.
The opening of the new church was recorded by one newspaper as follows: “The new edifice, one of the most beautiful in Ireland, was crowded with distinguished congregations, both morning and evening, and a magnificent response was made to the appeal for the completion of the building and equipment fund, with the result that on Sunday night, September 8th, the new church was completely freed of debt”. (In addition to gifts totalling £2,000, £3,700 was collected in the city and the Diocese and £1,836 was realised in the collection at the Dedication Ceremony, thus the year’s fundraising campaign brought in a total of £7,541)!
“To Father McWilliams Adm. (later Archdeacon McWilliams, PP, Downpatrick), on the magnificent success of his work, to the Catholics of The Holy Family district in particular, and to all the faithful people of the Diocese of Down and Connor, the impressive proceedings of the day had a deep interest, and the remarkably successful completion of a great project for the advancement of religion will be hailed with general joy and satisfaction”.
The report went on to describe the new church in these terms: “The new interior of the church was a perfect revelation to all who saw it for the first time on Sunday morning. Complete in every detail, it is one of the most beautiful in the city, neither over-ornate nor unduly severe. The High Altar, side Altars, Communion rails, stained glass and woodwork all harmonise into a perfect vista as one enters the main door.”
The opening of the new church did something else in addition to indicating the growing strength numerically of the Catholics in North Belfast. It also showed, in the names of the contributors at the Masses and Evening Devotions, an interesting social change in the emergence, rightfully, of Catholics in the professions, legislature, industry and commerce. This in itself was a tribute to the value of Catholic education by the primary schools, St. Malachy’s College, the Christian Brothers and the teaching orders of nuns. As an indication of the importance he placed in education, Father McWilliams, with the encouragement of Bishop Tohill, announced plans for the building of schools in the church grounds to accommodate 400 pupils. These schools, it was reported, would be equipped with elementary science and cookery rooms.
By the time he left Holy Family, to take charge of Downpatrick Parish, in 1917, Father McWilliams had the satisfaction of knowing that, thanks to his efforts, the parish he was leaving was on a sound footing – debt free, with schools capable of meeting the educational needs of children for generations to come and a magnificent church for the worship of God.
This progress and steady growth was maintained during the 1920-22 pogrom, the 1935 riots and the building boom in the 1930’s when the north of the city spread up over the Cavehill Road, the Antrim Road, Ballysillan Road and the former exclusive parks opened their gates to new house owners with larger families.
It was at this time that the then Bishop of the Diocese, Most Rev Dr Daniel Mageean, decided to build a church in the Chichester Park area, on the grounds of the former residence of the Bishop of Down and Connor, for the catholic families who had moved into the district. But a restrictive covenant imposed by the landlord in the lease of the Bishop’s old residence in Chichester Park, made it impossible to build a Catholic church or school there and a new site had to be found. It was decided to build in the grounds of the recently purchased Lanyon designed villa “Lisbreen”, on the Somerton Road. The freehold property cost £3,000.
Dr. Mageean made a passing reference to the restriction when he blessed the site for the new church on Monday, 28th January, 1937. “We had great difficulty in getting a site. Thank God we have here a most beautiful one” he said.
During the construction of the church of St. Thérèse, the dining room of “Lisbreen” was used as an oratory in which all the parishioners were accommodated at two Masses and Benediction each Sunday.
The church, which the Bishop described as “a beacon of light”, was opened in 1937. The building cost £12,000 and the furnishings £6,000. In 1950, a new side chapel was added and the gallery extended, thus a congregation of 600 could be seated. In 1970 some minor renovations were carried out to allow for the interpretation of Vatican II recommendations concerning the celebration of Mass and also to accommodate young children and their parents. In 1938, “Lisbreen” became the official residence of the Bishops of Down and Connor Diocese.
The outbreak of war in 1939 was to make an impact on the parish in a way few people could have envisaged. The “Blitz” of the early 1940’s caused death and destruction on a massive scale and Holy Family Parish did not escape unscathed.
The years immediately after 1945 were a time of consolidation in Holy Family as people adjusted to life in the post-war era. The austerity of the war years gave way to a new optimism and the 50’s saw significant developments in the educational field. Firstly, St. Patrick’s Intermediate School (Bearnageeha) was formally opened on Wednesday, 31st August, 1955. The school was constructed at a cost of approximately £250,000 and offered an enrolment to 800 boys.
Four years after the opening of ‘Bearnageeha’, the Little Flower Girls’ Secondary School was opened on 15th September, 1959, to cater for the post-primary girls from Holy Family, St. Patrick’s and St. Joseph’s parishes. The school was built at a cost of £172,000, with an enrolment of 640 pupils.
The Congregation of Irish Dominican Sisters purchased the property “Walton” at 38 Fortwilliam Park, on 30th August, 1930. Almost immediately the Prioress, Sister Stanislaus Egan and six sisters took up residence there. It was at the request of His Lordship, Most Rev Dr Daniel Mageean, that these nuns opened a Commercial College for Catholic girls (15th September) and at the same time a Preparatory School. From the latter the present Dominican College developed, while the Commercial College was absorbed into Little Flower School. The contribution of each of these schools to the education of the girls and boys of Holy Family Parish is incalculable and we owe much gratitude to the generations of teachers who served so generously and tirelessly in each institution.
The early 1970’s presented the Priests and people of Holy Family Parish with more serious challenges and problems that were fraught with many dangers. The “Troubles” as they came to be known threatened the viability of a once peaceful neighbourhood. Street disorders, army raids, shootings and bombings had become so commonplace that an air of despair enveloped the parish, drastically disrupting the lives of practically every family.
The Priests of Holy Family, who were struggling to cope with the many calls for help pouring into the Presbytery, decided that something positive must be done – and urgently. They invited the Rector of the Church of Ireland and the Minister of the Presbyterian Church in the area to join them in forming a Residents’ Committee. Representatives of each street in the Newington area were invited to join the Committee and weekly meetings were held in Holy Family School to which army personnel and representatives from the Community Relations Branch of the Police were invited – thus a forum for expressing the opinions and concerns of the local residents was established.
At these discussions the views of parents and young people were aired frankly and freely and with a sincerity that indicated clearly that they wanted to live in peace and to introduce an atmosphere of normality again to a respectable and industrious neighbourhood. It was this initiative that opened the door to better understanding and it is not an exaggeration to state that more than any other development, this particular forum saved the Newington district from total disintegration at that critical time.
Despite the violence and unrest which blighted the 1970’s parish life still flourished. In January 1975, the entry in the Parish Record reported: “This is truly an important date in the history of Holy Family Parish. Following a Public Inquiry, a letter from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Planning arrived to grant outline planning permission for a new Church on the Cavehill Road. This letter ended a long and difficult fight to get permission to build a Church on the Cavehill Road.”
But the battle to secure a site for the new Church was to prove but a mild setback compared to the disappointments, and as yet unforeseen trials, that lay ahead. The first hint of trouble came on 25th January, 1978, when threatening graffiti appeared on the corrugated surround at the site of the new Church. In April of that year the doors and walls of St. Thérèse Church, Somerton Road, were daubed with Loyalist slogans. A minibus parked in the grounds was set on fire. The signs were indeed ominous and the worst fears were realised just 18 months later when, at 4.20am on 22nd November, 1979, a 25lb bomb ripped through the almost completed Church of the Resurrection causing extensive damage which resulted in the Blessing and Dedication Ceremony, planned for 30th December, having to be postponed.
Writing in the Holy Family Magazine of December, 1979, Father Patrick McGarry, the then Administrator of Holy Family wrote: “As I stood on the Cavehill Road after I had examined the wanton devastation, I felt a terrible sense of emptiness. Many priests over the past twenty years had worked hard to find a suitable site to build a new Church in that area to facilitate the needs of the growing Catholic population. Now, as this deed was about to be fulfilled, a few sticks of gelignite blew it sky high. Despair would have been a natural reaction; bitterness very tempting; self pity an easy way out. But help came from many quarters.
After referring to the many letters of support he received from all over Ireland, Father McGarry went on: “One thing I have learnt over the past week is the great solidarity that exists between the priests and religious of the Diocese of Down and Connor. The Catholics of North Belfast reacted as I expected they would – with charity and compassion. The Bishop was a tower of strength. Whatever the future holds we will continue the work of building the Church. We will pray that bitterness and hatred in our society will change to love and brotherhood and with our Holy Father Pope John Paul II, who blessed our Altar Stone, that violence in Ireland will cease and that all men will return once more to love God and their neighbour”.
As Father McGarry had pledged, work on the new Church continued and on Easter Sunday, 6th April, 1980, the efforts, courage and determination of all involved were rewarded when the splendid new edifice was solemnly dedicated and opened by the then Bishop, Most Rev Dr William Philbin in the presence of a huge congregation. It was indeed a most memorable occasion; the culmination of a dream that had come to fruition despite many setbacks and a tribute to the Priests and people of a Parish that has been a source of comfort, joy and inspiration to countless members of the faithful for over 100 years.
The beginning of the 3rd Millennium heralded another significant development in the life of the Parish. A Condition Report indicated that the structure of Holy Family – our Mother Church – was unsound. Hard decisions had to be taken. Father Emerson consulted with Diocesan bodies and Parishioners and it was agreed that Holy Family Church should be demolished and a new Church built on the site. The construction of the new Church is progressing well and we look forward with hope and excitement to the Dedication and Opening ceremony, scheduled for 25th March, 2007. Ad multos annos.
