This week is the 75th anniversary this week of the laying of the foundation stone of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Ballinlough. The Church since its inception has provided a central focus for the Ballinlough community and is part of the roots, amongst other cultural assets, of the strong sense of confidence, identity and place that prevails in Ballinlough.
For the record, the solemn blessing of the site and laying of the foundation stone was led by Bishop Daniel Cohalan, Bishop of Cork on Sunday 6 October 1935. On the Cork Examiner the following Monday morning a number of pages were allocated with pictures and a full write-up of the event (available in local studies section, Central Cork City Library). In his address to the congregation, Bishop Cohalan noted that in his younger days, he remembered the district around Ballnlough Road and Boreenmanna Road as largely devoted to market gardening but it had grown into a popular residential area and the necessity for a church was “heavily” felt he noted “not only for the convenience of the people of the area but also to relieve the strain on the limited accommodation of the Parish Church”. Initially Our Lady of Lourdes Church was to serve as a chapel of ease to St. Michael’s Parish Church, Blackrock but Ballinlough became its own parish in time.
The original plan for Our Lady of Lourdes Church in 1935 was to provide seating accommodation for 700 people. The church was to have a mortuary chapel and two sacristies attached. By the laying of the foundation stone, already over £1,000 had been expended on the construction work and fundraising had been driven by Canon William P. Murphy, the parish priest of Blackrock. Canon Murphy had amassed a large amount of fundraising experience in his church career serving in Douglas, Courceys, Dunmanway, Ballydehob, the Fever Hospital in Cork City, Mayfield and at St. Raphael’s Asylum for the Blind, Cork City.
The foundation stone of the new Ballinlough Church was blessed and marked on each side with the sign of the cross by Bishop Cohalan. The litany of saints was recited and Fr. J.O’Brien, Dean of Residence of University College Cork, was the chanter. The stone was placed in position by the Bishop using a silver trowel presented to him by the builders. The Bishop, preceded by the clergy and acolytes, then walked in procession around the Church foundation, blessing it with holy water as he proceeded. The ceremony concluded with the singing of “Veni Creator” by the choir. After the Bishop’s address, the ceremonies ended with the singing of “Hail Queen of Heaven” by those present, accompanied by the band of Greenmount School, under the Mr. A.P. O’Toole.
The foundation stone, which is on view to the public outside the church has the following inscription, “A.M.D.G., in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes. The foundation stone of this church was laid on 6th October, 1935 by Most Rev. Dr. Cohalan, Bishop of Cork; Very Rev. William Canon Murphy, P.P., Messrs. Ryan and Fitzgibbon, architects; Messrs Coveney Bros. Builders.”
