We trawled through the Connacht Tribune’s archives and other books and found out that the provision of a new church for Bearna was not without its problems...

The 1970s was a decade of great change for Bearna, the most obvious was the dramatic – compared with the previous 10 years – growth in population.

The second church of St James was built in 1836 across the road from the original structure, and funded by the local Catholic land owners, the Lynch family, around the time of Catholic Emancipation.

The walls were thick masonry with narrow Gothic windows but, near the end of its life, it was described as having no architectural feature or decor of any merit.

Population Growth

According to the 1951 census, the population of Barna was 1,197, and subsequent counts revealed very slight growth.

The 1970s brought the biggest change, however. In the space of the two censuses, in 1971 and 1979, the population grew from 1,734 to 2,965, a 71% increase.

Also significant around this time was that Bearna/Furbo became a parish in its own right in 1972 – before this, it was part of Salthill, and Rahoon prior to 1952 – with Fr Patrick Tully, the curate of St Joseph’s, installed as its first PP.

It was in this environment that the campaign for either a refurbished or totally new church began in earnest.

In 1974, a site in the village was proposed as a likely location, but it was shot down by Galway County Council officials in the preliminary stages of negotiations because it was too small.

Subsequent efforts to buy adjoining land were unsuccessful and it was after this that the focus turned back to the existing site.

Structural engineers had declared the old church to be in a poor state of repair.

So, despite mixed feelings locally about the burden of cost that this new structure would bring on the community, the project to build a new one fired ahead.

Two acres of land were specifically acquired to increase the site to three acres, and an application for a 6,000 sq ft church – twice the size of the existing structure – was lodged in July 1975.

It was refused the following November, with the local authority stating that the existing church was already causing a traffic hazard, and that the proposed development would aggravate this situation.

They also felt that a new church at this location would attract more structures – possibly a school. 

Planning Appeal

This decision was appealed to the Minister for Local Government, however, and on February 20 1976 The Connacht Tribune reported on the front page that the church project had at last been given the green light.

The estimated cost was said to be in the region of £80,000 (€100,000), with a completion time of 12 months.

Taking on the design aspect was architect and Barna resident, Simon J Kelly. In his book (Time, Space & People – an architect’s perspective of life and work) he says he consulted Bishop Michael Browne about the Lynch family mausoleum and the coffins inside.

The Bishop asked to see for himself and, afterwards, he advised that the dead should not be interfered with, but left the final decision with the architect. Thankfully, Simon Kelly agreed, and the new church was carefully designed to incorporate the tomb.

Resistance

The siting of the church, overlooking Galway Bay, was an overriding influence in the final design solution.

The main feature, from the south elevation, was the wall of full length and continuous clear glass windows instead of coloured or stained glass.

Mr Kelly noted some resistance to this, but said the architects were adamant that the views should be availed of. Another consideration was obviously the cost issue.

However, three large stained glass windows for the north side of the church – depicting three phases of Christ’s story – were donated by three Barna families, the Donnelly’s, the Cunningham’s and the Kavanagh’s. Two further stained glass windows at Our Lady’s altar were later designed by Simon and Ann Kelly’s daughter, Cathriona, who was a secondary school student at the time.

Old & New

Efforts were made to retain the best aspects of the old church – the old-style altar had been made of green Connemara marble but a perfect match could not be obtained for sufficient marble to complete a free standing altar and ambo, so the old marble was incorporated as the facing to the celebrant’s side of the new altar.

The Stations of the Cross in the old church were found to be very unusual as they were oil paintings on sheet steel panels. They were reset in new frames and mounted on the east gable in the form of a frieze, and were being cleaned gradually by Tom Kenny at the time of the opening.

The old church’s Sanctuary lamp and tabernacle were retained, as was the cross which now hangs on the west outside gable wall of the new church.

When the old church was being demolished and the timber floor removed, the original stone flagged floor was unearthed. These stones were subsequently re-set to the base of the retained Lynch vault outside.

The plaque marking the grave of a priest buried under the old church was preserved and placed in the wall of the main porch. The details on it are: Fr John Dooley, 1871, age 33 years Adm. Rahoon parish.

The opening date was set for March 6, 1977, at which time The Connacht Tribune reported that the final cost of the project, which was now dedicated to Our Lady, Mary Immaculate Queen, was between £100,000 and £110,000.

“The magnificent modernistic building occupies what must be one of the most striking scenic locations in the west, overlooking the full panorama of Galway Bay,” the reporter wrote.

The opening and dedication ceremony was performed by Bishop of Galway, Dr Eamonn Casey – who had succeeded Bishop Michael Brown the previous year – after inspecting a guard of honour of boy scouts.

The Bishop said that the building of a new church was an expression of faith and hope in God. He stressed the role of the parish church in the life of a people, as a symbol of peace and love.

Music for the occasion was in Irish, including Sean Ó Riada compositions, as well as Latin and English. Simon Kelly and other parishioners read the lessons in Irish and English.

A reception was held afterward in a large marquee erected in the new car park.

References

Connacht Tribune archives (www.irishnewspaperarchive.com); Simon J Kelly’s Time, Space & People – an architect’s perspective of life and work; Bearna & Na Forbacha – A Local History (1983) ICA local history study; Booklet printed for opening of Church of Mary Immaculate Queen in March 1977.