CHRISTMAS at Oatfield in East Clare will see a double celebration, as the community marks the completion of works to restore the village’s famous Barn Church, which dates to the 1600s.

The careful restoration, upgrading and development of what is believed to be the oldest church in the Killaloe Diocese, has taken almost a decade, and is the result of huge dedication on the part of the local community.

Since 2013, thanks to intensive fundraising, essential repairs have been carried out on the protected structure. These include works on the doors, bell tower, storage building and foot-paths. Other work has been done on erecting piers and gates at the car park entrance, as well as the full refurbishment of the kneeling boards in the church.

In 2020, local man Donal Ryan created and installed a replica of the original, historical altar, which was removed in the 1960s. In the last couple of weeks, with the completion by Lenihans contractors, of the entrance walls and railing to the carpark, the Barn Church will be at its best for Christmas Eve Mass at 7pm. 

Project Coordinator Michael Tynan thanked everyone for their generosity and support over those years.

“The Christmas Eve mass is always a very important religious and social event in Oatfield church,” he said.

“This year we are joined by local musicians Bells and Whistles which will greatly add to the occasion. We in Oatfield regard the integration of new people into the locality as being vitally important, this integration is especially facilitated by the tradition of having a chat and a cup of tea for everyone after the Christmas Eve mass. This wasn’t possible the last couple of years due to Covid, so we are delighted this year that we can have it back.

“The cup of tea and chat was started many years ago by the late Geraldine Crehan, it was her philosophy of welcoming people and making them feel at home in this small community. We are delighted this year that we can continue to keep up this very important tradition, as the last couple of years have been very stressful in many people’s mental health. If we help one person its great, but we want everyone to go away feeling better.”

Oatfield Barn Church is just one of three of its kind which still survive in Ireland. Over the years, funding for its restoration has come from sources including the Tomar Trust, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Housing and the local community. Because the church is a protected structure, conservation architect, Michael Pledge was appointed to oversee much of the work.

Barn churches were traditionally thatched barns, which would have been used at harvest time for threshing and storing oats. Under the repressive Penal Laws, introduced in 1695, when masses were banned, these barns were used for the covert celebration of mass. 

The origins of the Oatfield church dates back to the 1600s, when a French priest, who is now known as St Vincent de Paul, responded to a request from Bishop Dwyer of Limerick to send priests to work in the city.

By 1651 Limerick was under siege by the Cromwellian army and a plague had broken out. At least five Vincentians came to Limerick at that time. Among them were two Irish priests, Fr Gerard Brin and Fr Edmund Barry, both of whom had been ordained in Paris.

The men managed to escaped from the destruction and pestilence which was rampant Limerick, and made their way over the hills to Oatfield, where they settled in a small stone house in Derrynaveagh. According to tradition, they celebrated mass for the local people in the thatched barn.

That barn was reconstructed and consecrated as a church about 1830, at the time when Fr Jeremiah Tuohy was parish priest. On January 6, 1839, the roof was ripped off this building in what has become known as The Night of the Big Wind. In later years the third northern aisle was added, which gave the building its present cruciform design.

Again in 1952, the church had extensive repairs done to the roof and walls and in 1966, the Vincentian connection with Oatfield was recognised when the church, previously dedicated to St Peter, was rededicated to St Vincent de Paul, by the late Bishop Joseph Rodgers. A statue of the saint came from Paris and was donated to Oatfield Barn Church, where it still stands today.