Article 707- 5 September 2013
Journeys of Faith, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough, Celebrating 75 Years
In the past eight months I have been fortunate to interview many people in Ballinlough, my own homeplace, to produce a book to mark the 75th anniversary of the dedication of Our Lady of Lourdes Church. Located on a prominent limestone ridge, the church is a familiar, impressive and welcoming landmark in Ballinlough, a south east suburb of Cork City. The building represents one of the multiple threads of community life of the area. Indeed, it can be said that many of the original ideas for the present community infrastructure in Ballinlough, ranging from actual buildings to various sporting and social clubs had their roots amongst the people and priests who created, and in time, added to the meaning of building in the lives of the community.
At the dedication ceremony on Sunday 11 September 1938, the orator of the sermon, Fr Kieran, OFM, Cap spoke at length about the building belonging to the people and the people belonging to the church; “we are gathered and united in one living holy faith this morning in this beautiful little church, planned by Christ-like minds and built by human hands and generous hearts”. Those ideas of hope, self determination, generosity, faith, dedication, and adoration are all starting points to begin a reflection on the past 75 years.
In Our Lady of Lourdes Church, there is a faith in the sacredness of this edifice that has never been relinquished since 1938. It is a thriving and resilient place, a place of aspiration. Here is a faith founded on familiar cultural and personal Christian principles to which those in the present day are heirs; we also carry forward some of that faith and all the ideas that go with it; we continue to build and trust in our faith. The text on the 1935 foundation stone at the side of the building reminds one of this spirit of co-operation in faith and that together the clerical and lay community have brought forward the multiple meanings and memories within the building as a socially inclusive community.
The church is a celebration of re-invention and re-imagination of the faith and initiative in Free State Ireland. A sense of initiative remains constant in the character of the Ballinlough community today. The Bishop of Cork in 1938, Dr Daniel Cohalan, had an interest in harnessing new possibilities, ideas, and new skills, to reach higher and to combine them with ideas of faith. There is a power in faith, in journeying with it. It is our lasting birthright but, it is also about what we do with it. Faith does not have a financial value but, without it, people’s moral compass, personal development and journey in life would certainly be anchored in a different direction.
As its core aims, this book excavates below Ballinlough’s official histories. Its key milestones are presented but the book aims to provide insights and foster debate into the woven relationships between the church, community life, and society. What is presented is a cross-section of Ballinlough residents and those connected to the parish throughout the years. Using the themes of the spirit of co-operation and community building put forward during Fr Kieran’s sermon at the 1938 dedication ceremony, the book aspires to recover and provide a cross-section of voices and personal memories of the most memorable aspects of Ballinlough. It also tries to create a framework of the development of motivations and visions for community life. The book is divided into four parts – firstly it presents the historical framework for the construction of Ballinlough church and the nature of Cork society in the 1920s and 1930s. Secondly memories covering Ballinlough’s market garden heritage and the emergence of the area’s development in the 1930s and 1940s; secondly the book focuses on the construction of the community infrastructure in the period c.1950-c.1980; fourthly the book explores more recent memories and concludes with the perspectives of a cross-section of individuals in the Ballinlough Parish Assembly.
Over 100 people speak at length in this book about their faith, their personal connection to Ballinlough, and its sense of place and how they link to it. They speak about the layered aspects of life such as change, love, hope, uncertainty, fragility, tragedy, integrity, traditions, renewal and imagination and their role in the formation of human values. Interviewees commented on the role of the church in the past and seek to be involved in its future. All merge together to reflect on the mark made on history by Our Lady of Lourdes Church and the wider community, but also their role in the future of Ballinlough and in the wider city and region.
I will be giving a reflection on the 75th anniversary on Friday 13 September at 7.30pm in the church during the celebration mass and mission. The book launch is after this event on the same evening at 8.30pm in St Anthony’s Boys National School. All welcome. The book can be purchased for E.15 from Ballinlough parish office and sacristy from 13 September onwards.
Caption:
707a. Front cover of Journeys of Faith, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough, Celebrating 75 Years by Kieran McCarthy; cover designed by Alexandria O’Donnell, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Ballinlough.