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lings each in August 1831, whilst anew
bell rope cost 4/6V2d in June 1834, at
which time 200 Scripture text books
cost 12/=. There was a robbery from
the church in 1835 and a printed advertisement
offering a reward cost 7/6. It
is not recorded whether or not the culprit
was apprehended.
Regular requests were made in these
early days for assistance for poor
people in the parish; thus we find 2/6
being paid to a family distressed by the
want of work in 1829 and 5/= being
paid for the admission of a poor blind
boy into the Richmond Institution, the
latter with a note appended to the effect
that the 5/= will probably be repaid
by subscription. A Sunday Collection
Account Book commencing on
9th November 1839 lists at the beginning
six poor Protestants receiving
weekly pecuniary relief out of these
collections at the rate of 1/6 each. In
September 1843 the sum of £1 was
given to Henry McCullagh, a paper
maker, who was emigrating to America,
while his wife received 5/= to enable
her to follow him in July 1844. In December
the same year Mrs. Gilly received
6/= to enable her to thatch her house,
and Catherine Hewitt 4/= in May 1847
to bury her father. In the latter context,
coffins were frequently purchased
out of parish funds for the poor. It is
difficult in our present comparatively
affluent times to realise how hard life
really was in Ireland at that time. As we
have seen elsewhere, the two principal
rivers running through the parish had a
number of mills which had by now
closed down and of course the famine
years from 1845 onwards aggravated
the problem. The question of a chancel
being added to the church was first
raised at the annual Easter Vestry held
on Easter Monday 1867, when the incumbent
was directed to obtain plans
and estimates for such an extension. A
letter from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
in May 1868 offered £100
towards the expense and it was following
that that it was decided to proceed
accordingly. Licence was granted for
services to be held in the schoolhouse
as from 29th September 1868 and in
fact the church remained closed until
July of the following year. In the meantime,
a further alteration was decided
upon, namely the provision of a new
entrance door on the southside of the
church (the Funeral Door) and the removal
of the organ gallery. In May
1870 we find the Select Vestry discussing
correspondence between the Warden
of St. Columba's College and the
incumbent on the subject of a proposed
union between the college and the
parish. The decision was that on no account
would the vestry consent to the
identity of the parish being merged into
that of the college. A similar suggestion
was made in May 1941 at which time
a similar reply was given. In 1871 the
Diocesan Council suggested that the
parish of Cruagh could be more appropriately
united with that of Whitechurch
rather than with Tallaght. The few Protestant
families residing in Cruagh regularly
attended Whitechurch and the vicar
had been gratuitously looking after
their pastoral care.
The Tallaght Select Vestry 'could not
see any occasion for the severance of
the long established union ... nor do we
approve of the hasty changes in the old
landmarks of an Irish Church without
advantage or necessity'. Despite their
objections, approval was given for the
merger. At this time also the townland
of Scholarstown, previously included
in Rathfarnham parish, was transferred
to Whitechurch bringing it up to its present
extent. Steps were taken at the
close of 1875 to regularise the position
regarding accommodation for the incumbent
with an offer being made to
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