Parish Of Dromore

31
THE MODERK CH.URUH.
ruACTIOALLY every page of our his·­
tory, for the pus,t seven hundred
ye,a.rs, jus,tifies the saying tha.t
"Engl,and's difficulty is Ireland's
o-pporitunity." English Ja.w as
adminis't'e,red in Irel,and did not
presume the existenc·e of a Catholic
in the country. Yet, when t he
Stuart Rebellion broke oirnt Catholic
worship was tolerated in Ire,land,
and the Govm·nment's ban on the
g1·mr!Ang of sites for churches was
withdrawn. Lord Belmore, the
landlord of a.n exten1sivei di~tric·t in this parish 4 gave a
sit.a for a chaipel a.nd burying-ground on the farm in
Ag.hadana on wh1ch the Gle1n Bohogti.e was s.ittH11ted. His
age.nt and haiiliffs, whose pem1lat.ions frna.lly nece<ssita.ted the
descendant o.f the generous donor .selling the Fenagh esiiai;e,
sa.ddled the1 grnnit with the condit.ion that the Clatholic
C ha1pel should be so S<it.uated tlmt it would not be visible from
the Protesia.nt Oh11.l'Ch. This co.ndition was, of necessity,
complied with, !fl.ncl to the prns·ent day .fhe Catholic Church
stands in a hollow, wlrnrn it is sc,arcely discernible from any
of the leading thoroughfares.
The church built .a.t that, t.ime was pra.ctically the sia.me
size· a.s t he pre.sent church, but n ort so high. It had a double
roof cm·r ied on a row od' ma.ssivo wooden pillars clown the
cent.re. In 1819-1820 this chut·ch was renovated a.ncl ,slate<l.
In t he yc1ar 1834 a.ncl 1835 it was practic•ally rebuilt; the
4The fo!Qowilllg t·ownlhand.s in t.h,is pa.rfaih, whilc!h formed p11;1·t of
the Ferna1fPh Esta le, we,re .sol·d hy the Ela.rt of Behrnoo~ in th(l Jncumool'ed
Esfo1tes Gou.rot in 1852 twd 1853 :-A:ghadm'l·a, Upper and Lower;
Cranny, Oornnmndda.gh, orba.Ily, Carnal.ea, Corlade1·g.an, Camde1·y.
Dl'Umljoiil1, Drum.sheil, Demaseer, DQ·essoigue, Esker, GaJ.ba.Uy, Glengeen,
Gokiin, Grennrnn, Knorknm,v.a.n, Knocknahorn, Li&'1ne•din, Minegar,
Bahoney, Ra&eeranbe.g, TJJt.tycor, ancli Tu'l~aoghcluna,gh.

39
Evaugelis{s and Minor Prophet·S, sculptured in c a~m-stone,
and built into the wall about .seven fe.et o·ver the fl oor l~vel.
T'hese scu1ptrures, which are of a very high degree of artistic
me1,it, have an illltere>5ting history.
ONE OF THE CANDELABRA .
Lady H . R.oss ·Of Bla.tlrnn s!burg wais a.u acco1lliplished
sculptor, and .spent many years in Lta ly perfecting h~·self in
her favourite ar t. She did a be·autiful cross, in Irish. design,
as a monume.nt for her father 's grave, in the cemetery at
Rostrevol', where it ma.y still .bei seen. An orga11iser of the
grea.t London E.xhi1bition of 1851, persnm{led Lady Ross to
exeKiute a replic1a of this cross foi· the Ei:x:hibitiiou. She did !iO.

40
The cross atti•acted muob a.ttention and very flattering comment
a.t the Exhibition, and was frn ally purchased by a Mr.
Denny, oif Derryvullen, Co . Fermana.gh, who intended to erect
it in his family .burying ground a.t 1~amlaght C1rnrch.
The ·cross srtood albout fourteen feet high. Either &ide of
the shaf.t was divided into four panels. On the front were
1bold, high reilie[ bus.ts od' the four E:v•angelists ; and on the
hack, of the F'our M[nor Pr()phets. 'I1w front of the Cl.·oss
head had a Crucifixion; and ion t.he back were rerprnsewtations
of the Sacrifices of the Old Law. The &ides of the shaft bad
conventional Irish interlacing. The whole cross, a•s seen .a.t
Rostre.vor, is a beautiful work of art.
The Vestry and church-ward.ens objected to the erection
of the cmss in Taml1aght Protestant burying ground; and it
was lying at Mr. Denny's 1P1a.ce, when Mr. Edward MikheH
pru·rchased his r£arm and residence, at Derryvullen. Mr.
Mitchell being of a utilitarian disposition turned it to account
when erecting a :farmyard. After partJy chipping the
Crucifixion off the Cross-head, he built it into the wall 0£ his
cow-house, and used the open spa.ndrels within the circle for
ventilation purpo·se.s. The shiaJ•t he used as a pillar 1uncle•r a
ca.rt-shed. ·w~th a Hberal :JJppl.ication of limewash and t a.How
he oblite 1a.ted all t1iace •of the sculpturing. They were found
in these und~gnified posi:tiows by the .present writ.er, who with
the permission of Mr. 1P. Falkne·r, tihe prese:n,t •owner, l~ad the
Gross s.haf1t removed and ca,retfully dea.ned. As the base of
the Cross had dis1a.ppeared and the hoo.d ha.cl been hopele.ssly
defaced, a l'eistora,tion wa.s impossible. The shia;ft furnished
a seri.e-s of sculptured Prophed.s ia11d E"angelists for this Ohurch
por1Ch .
. The .NEW SACRISTIES, at the .bu.ck of the Ohurch, adjoining
the Slanc~uary, are n.eat, convenielllt and well fu r nished.
Underneaith is the concrete furnace chamber from which th,e•
Church is heat.e.d on t1he high pre.ssure hot-waiter system.
There is aJl excellent supply of Church P late•. One of
the chalices is inSicrii'bed : "Reiv. P a.kick Tr·eanor, 1835." Ont

41
of the C~boria is a massive vessel of Irish hammered silver,
mea.s>uring 7! inches in height, and 4i inches across the cup.
On the convex surface of the base is tFie curious inscr~ption :
BOUGHT BY THE PARISH OF DROMORE CARMELITES. A.D. 1797."
The CARMELITES were members· of the Sodality of the Brown
Scaipular of Our Lady of Mount Oarmel.
BELL TOWE'R.
R. Arthur Woods, who had been for
many ye1ar1S a prominent figure· in
Dromore, purchased and presented t o
t.he Parish C'hurch, a very fine, sweettoned
bell, in the early eighties of
the last century. A tempor ary
wooden bell-tower was erected to
accommodate it, and it is still in use.
It was always unsightly, and in recent
years it ha.s become unsa.fo.
The low lying position of the,
Chtwch, a.nd the very limited
s;pace around it have hitherto
stood in the way of the building
of a permanent bell-t ower .
Both these1 obsilades have been
overcome, in the extension
of the graveyard. A s•plendid
position for a detached tower ha·s
been set apart on the top of the
hill, a.bout 100 yards from the
Chur1Ch, and within the confine·s
of the Cemete·ry. P1ans and
specifications for the Tower here
il1ustra.ted, have· been prepared
by Professor Scott, A.R.I.B.A.,
M.S.A., Dublin, and, as soon as
the ne·cessary funds are availruble
its erection will be proce•eded -----

42
wit,h. The design, l.ike all Profe.~:, or Scott's work, is or iginal
and beaut.if1ul in its 1simplicity. The po·sit ion c.hosen for iii
will secure Hm t the be,U will be hea.rd at e-very house in tl!e
parisl1.
A GURA1~E'8 REiS1IDENCE.
OUSE accommod 1 ailion in the parish of
Dromoro has bee•n, for some years past,
[tt ,a premium, and in consequence the
C'miaites have been badly accommodart:·ed.
At the preisent time the C\irate is living
in a hotel. w .e have referred (p. 10) to
a fierld midway between the oLd and
modern church, calle1d the, CRoss HILL.
This field wa.s purchased by the late
Monsignor 1'1'Kenna in the year 1886 ,
for a gnwey a1'd, bu.t it wa.s nevc1· used for tha,t purpose. H e
bequeiaHrnd it to the Bishop and ,the parish priest for the
t•ime beiing for the use a.nd benefit of the Catholic people of
the parish. It is 1an ide0J. sute for a Cm"3tte's reside.nee. It is
in tho cenl.rn of the parish, besid·e the Church, sufficiently
nea.i· the villag·e to afford -any adv1a.nta,ge ·there is in close
proximity, yet far enough removed from it to s-e.cure privacy
for the Cm1afo, and for 1thooo who c•all on him.
The .plm1.s for the house have been prepared and approved,
and the preliminary work on the sit-e is in pr·og1,e-s·s.
The " Cross Hill," held in perpetuity ·at a nominal rent.
It was included fa1 the Rathdonnell Lease of 1882:, which i.s a
Lea:m in 1Solidum, by which each holding is liable to Lord
Riait.hdonneU for his r ent ·<mt o.f an t.he holdings specified in
th1:l Loose. The " Gross Hill" was e·x-empt from this lia.bility
by the Landed Elsta.tes Court Conveyance, while the1 hability
of a.II the other holdings remains.
The, plot of ground on which a Sexton's House> was built,

r
43
m 1918, is held in peqJehlity by the Parochial Trustees, by
Deed, dated the' 18th da,y of December, 1894, and Registered
the 29th day of Dc.cember, 1894.
Pn.orosED Gun.A'l'E 's HousE.
P AROOHIAL HALL.
ANON M·Kenna, on his adve.nt lo this
parish in Octo1ber, 1876, found the
commodious Schools huilt by F ather
Euge.ne M'Kenna, C.C., adjoining the
rnrnrch, rnady for the roof. They were
only one-sforey high a nd the1'e· were no
funds availruble to iadd anot.her s<torey .
At his own expense he added a second
storey, thus providing a mos·t s~·a-0ious
Parochial Hall. To t he Rev. Mirutthew Maguire, the worthy
Pastor of Kilslrnery, who as cm·ate here (1897-1906), did

45
SCHOOLS.
0 reiference is made in the 1731 wp-0111i
of the Sheriff of Tyrone to a
Catholic School in this parish. So
far as we can ascertain there was
not, during %e ·eighteenth centu1·y,
any regularly established f>'chool ifor
eithel' Ciait.holics or Protes•taruts.
Towa.rds the end of the eighteen:th
century itinemnt te·aichers, principally
Connacht men, conducted
hedge s·chools with varying degrees·
of success. The Report on t·he
Dioce.se of Ciogher, issued in 1800,
by the "Education Commit•tee of the (Protestant) :Associa.tion
for the Discountena.ncing of Vice and promotion of
Religion and VJrtu-e,' 10 make·s a 1general statement which
apperu·s ,fo be espe.ciaJly applfoa..0le fo this parish. "In consequence
of the extreme povert.y of the parents in general, a,nd
the almo t total want of any fixed ·pro•vision or i·e.side1nce for a
teacher, nio e!IlJcomiagement is ipres·ented to enocurage properly
qualified persons ito undertake the office; accordingly it
appears· t·ha.t the schoolmasters· a,re generally itinerant, exercising
the1ir office in the first harn that will afford shelter from
the inclemency of the we·ather, and living from house. to house
among the pa.r ents of their respeictive scholars: a.nd that the
support derived from their employment is so scanty tha.t they
a.re obliged to iiesort. to other occupa.tions, siuch as writing
letters a.nd dra.win.g 1pertitions, even during the hours which
should be exclusively ·de.vo·ted to the instruction of their
pupils; and have been frequently induced t.o become secretaries
of treasonaible !Societies."
At t he time ·of wh~ch we S'Peak few people in this parish
5HalJj,day Pa,mpbJet.s, vol. 800.
R I.A.