On the road to restoration in Kilkishen

FOR the last 40 plus years, it has been a dream of the people of Kilkishen to develop a community facility at the derelict Church of Ireland church but what seemed to be an unattainable feat is fast becoming a reality.
The road to restoration and the creation of a community cultural centre at the church has been a winding one for the Kilkishen Development Association who have been striving since 2000 to purchase the church facility but having been given the green light from Clare County Council for their proposed development and extension of the church, it looks like it will be a straight road from here on in.
Built in 1811, this church was placed firmly at centre of the community following the Act of Union, with Britain intent on having a Church of Ireland institution in every parish.
However, even after independence was gained and after the local landlords, the Studdart family, left Kilkishen, the church continued to hold regular services up until its closure in 1964.
Since then, it has lain idle and has become exposed to the elements, become overgrown and suffered the wrath of vandals.
In the 47 years it laid dormant, the church has been a source of many conversations locally as to what would become of it and even more so what could be done with it to the benefit of all in the community.
However, despite numerous attempts by the community to purchase the church, these difficulties have only now been ironed out and with planning approval from the local authority this week, the development association looks set to purchase the facility and put the contract out to tender.
Chairman of this association, Mike Hogan, explained, “The church is 200 years old this year and it is a beautiful building. It has been an ambition of the community to develop it over the last 40 years. The church closed in 1964 and since then, the community has been anxious to broker a deal to ensure that it didn’t fall into disrepair and instead to develop it into a functioning facility for the community. The issue was that it was not available for purchase.”
It was not until last year that the community were able to negotiate the potential purchase of the church, as Mike explained.
“We brokered a deal with the Church of Ireland last August to purchase the church with the help of Canon Bob Hannah and Edwin Bailey, the secretary of Kilnasoolagh parish, and this was agreed at higher level. We then basically looked at the building and decided what to do with it. It is quite small inside so we decided it wasn’t big enough, as it didn’t have toilets or a kitchenette. We had to discuss with Dick Cronin, Clare County Council’s conservation officer, what we could do and we decided to put on a modern extension comprising a kitchenette, storage area and toilet facilities. We also decided to put in a mezzanine floor and leave half of the church at full height to keep the acoustics for concerts, as it is planned to use it as a cultural centre,” he said.
Other works required will include the restoration of the roof, putting in insulation and reinstating the existing slates. The design for the extension itself is proposed to be in complete contrast to the existing building and will include narrow windows that will complement the church and it will have a sloped roof with a copper looking finish.
In the lead-up to this project, the association also cleared the grounds of the church revealing 15 burial plots and an initiative to identify and trace relatives of those buried on the grounds is in train.
According to Mike, the graves include deceased members of the Studdart family, the landlords that held the most holdings in Kilkishen during the 1800s around the time the church was built. It is believed they returned to the UK when independence came about late in 1921. Other graves include some of the rectors attached to the church over the years as well as some of locals.
The proposed works are estimated to cost in the region of €550,000 and under the plans set out by the development association are envisaged to take three years to complete. .
“The community has been lacking in several respects, even with the Celtic Tiger, we have seen a lot of new families come into Kilkishen and we feel we don’t have enough facilities for them. We have great GAA sports facilities but for those with an interest in music or even to just bring people together, we are lacking in facilities to do that. We have lost a lot of small businesses and in fact, if I said I’ll meet you for a cuppa and a chat at some stage during the day, there is no facilities there to do that, or to talk business even. So it is our intention to have the new centre open from 12 noon to 10pm and it would have multiple uses for the older and the younger generations,” he outlined.
Mike explained it would be proposed to run music, art, dance, computer and horticultural classes for all age groups at the new facility and it would also be a venue that could be utilised as a drop-in centre for those who would like to stop by, make a cup of tea, have a chat or play a game of cards. It is also hoped it would become a central part of the community offering information on the locality. He said it is further planned to develop walking trails of various lengths in the area and it would be proposed to display details of these routes at the new centre and use it as a starting point.
The development itself is subject to securing the necessary finances and a detailed application for LEADER funding has been submitted by the community association. In addition, a fundraising committee headed by Patsy Neville has already kickstarted a variety of initiatives, including a cash for clobber project and more recently, they began a scrap metal collection campaign.
However, their fundraising drive gets firmly underway on Saturday, August 6 with a formal launch, where a community mass will be held in Kilkishen Church at 8pm followed by a Powerpoint presentation of the project between 9 and 10pm in Gallagher’s.
The evening will draw to a close with a function in Donnellan’s from 10pm where PJ Murrihy will provide music, while special guest Máirtín MacCormaic will officially launch the fundraising programme at 11pm.
here will be a feast of set dancing in the famed Donnellans Hall with fear an tí Sean Ó Torpaigh.