Irish news digest June 11

Great Grandma Iris is having ‘virtual’ garden open day

Iris Dungan lives near Enniscorthy and reached 100 years of age last March.
She was due to host a garden open day on June 28th but that’s not possible now because of Covid-19 restrictions. To help her out her family has organized a virtual fundraising facility online instead. You can check out the website below to view her garden and contribute if you would like to.

This is what her family has to say:

Great Grandma Iris Dungan was 100 years old in March and is still aiming to raise funds for good causes. Iris opened the garden in her 90th year to raise funds for both the local church and also the Co. Wexford Community Workshop in Enniscorthy. This was a success and so was repeated for her 95th birthday when the garden had been further extended. The 28th June was the date earmarked for her third open garden but with the circumstances this has not been possible. The hope is to raise funds first and have the garden open when possible and so a website has been set up with a gofundme link. See –
[ www.greatgrandmasgarden.com ]

A small donation or a message of support would be a help to Iris. It is being run to raise funds again for Monart church and for the County Wexford Community Workshop in Enniscorthy.

She is so fortunate to have the lovely surroundings of her garden but lacks the social contact that she is accustomed to. Please have a virtual look at the garden through the website.

€80,000 government grant to St Eunan’s Cathedral Raphoe

Donegal Minister Joe McHugh has announced €140,000 funding to protect and improve local heritage projects, including St Eunan’s Cathedral Raphoe and the house where playwright Brian Friel based his world renowned play Dancing at Lughnasa, The Donegal News reports.

“It’s always a great boost to see Government investment in heritage and history and it’s even better when there’s a great story behind some of the places,” Minister McHugh said.

In total 13 projects across Donegal are benefitting in the latest round of funding under the Historic Structures Fund and Built Heritage Investment Scheme.

The Minister for Education and Skills said: “This funding recognises the importance of our history and heritage and the legacy of culture that we are preserving.

“The €80,000 investment in preserving the Cathedral Church of St Eunan’s in Raphoe is a great example. It’s brilliant to see the work of Dean Arthur Barrett and those involved in the restoration project getting the reward for the impressive plans.

“But one of the great stories behind the projects on this year’s list is linked to The Laurels, Gortnamucklagh near Glenties. It’s the house Brian Friel visited as a child and it’s where he based his famous work – Dancing at Lughnasa. One of the other famous visitors is Oscar winner Meryl Streep.

“No doubt people who know and love their local history will have plenty of stories to tell about the other buildings on the list. And I look forward to hearing them.”

Taughboyne Church of Ireland Parish Church, St Johnston is also receiving a €2,500 grant for replacement of outdated services.

The projects benefitting under the Historic Structures Fund and Built Heritage Investment Scheme are named at –
[[] https://donegalnews.com/2020/06/funding-for-heritage-sites-and-projects-in-donegal/ ]

BBC One Sunday worship

A service from Holy Trinity at Platt Church led by Sarah Bradley, Youth and Children’s Minister. The preacher is The Rev. Dr Paul Mathole and the service includes songs and hymns recorded by @BBCSoP in 2017. It was filmed before church buildings were closed. Sun 10:45 @BBCOne

Antrim church School Uniform Bank

Following on from last year’s school uniform bank, First Antrim Presbyterian Church hope to offer the same service to the people of Antrim this year.

A spokesperson said, “We were overwhelmed by the generosity shown by people donating old school uniforms, and so many families in our town were able to benefit. Because people donated to the school uniform bank, we were able to kit out kids for nursery, primary and secondary schools in our town, and those who received were so grateful.

“With the current restrictions in place, we are making plans, but these may change as our circumstances change regarding social distancing. We hope to run the school uniform bank in late July/early August, and at the moment are asking that you hold on to old school uniforms and shoes.

“Currently, we are considering a system where families book a slot to minimise social contact. Obviously, nearer the time we will know for sure how the school uniform bank will operate.

“Meantime, we ask that you keep old uniforms until such times as we can make arrangements to receive donations. We welcome uniforms donations from all the schools in Antrim, nursery through to secondary.

“Antrim is a great town, together we helped families last year, and we hope that we can do the same this year. In anticipation, we thank you.”

Job opportunity – Church Support Officer at National Churches Trust

Are you inspired by church architecture? Are you fascinated by the history of churches and want them to remain part of our heritage and a vital part of community life? Are you experienced in assessing funding applications and supporting historic buildings to be well maintained and sustainable? Are you passionate about all these things within a Northern Ireland context?

As the independent, UK-wide charity supporting churches, chapels and meeting houses of all Christian denominations, the National Churches Trust supports and promotes church buildings of historic, architectural and community value by inspiring support, preserving heritage and promoting sustainability. We aim to maintain the UK’s heritage of church buildings and to enhance their ability to serve local communities; to promote the benefit to communities of church buildings and to inspire everyone to value and enjoy them.

Grant funding is at the heart of our work. The Trust allocates in the region of £1.4m of funds across its grants programme annually. Having recently been successful with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we will lead a new project ‘Treasure Ireland’ that aims to support an improvement in the maintenance and sustainability of historic places of worship in Northern Ireland. At its core will be a grants programme for proactive repairs and maintenance. It will also provide training and mentoring support, video guides and training on writing funding bids, maintenance, interpretation and tourism. It also aims to increase visitors to churches in Northern Ireland.

“We are therefore looking for a new Church Support Officer to join our Church Support team to help deliver this exciting new initiative. The role is varied and the post-holder will manage the day to day work of the project and support churches to engage with it. Responsibilities will include overseeing a small grants programme, running training events and sector meetings, raising the profile of maintenance, supporting church tourism and expanding contractor availability…”

Closing date: Noon Wednesday 24 June 2020.
Interview date: 6 / 7 July 2020 (either Belfast or online)See –
[[] https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/our-people/current-vacancies ]

God in Creation