Teampol na mBocht, a church for the poor, built by the poor

Teampol na mBocht … the Church of the Poor, at Altar or Toormore, west of Schull, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Patrick Comerford

On the way out to Mizen Head from Bantry on Saturday afternoon [21 May 2016], there was one sandy beach after another, with each golden stretch of sand on this peninsula in West Cork washed by waves of blue and white and basking beneath blue skies.

At Schull we stopped to enjoy the harbour, to stroll through the narrow streets with their brightly painted shops and houses, and to browse in Anna B’s bookshop and mull over coffee as we sat out on the street.

In the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross in the Church of Ireland, Schull is part of group of parishes that includes the churches of Holy Trinity in Schull, Teampol na mBocht in Altar and Saint Brendan in Crookhaven.

Before reaching Crookhaven in time for lunch, we stopped at Teampol Na mBocht, or the Church of the Poor, in Altar, or Toormore, five miles outside Schull. The name Teampol na mBocht tells much about the origins of this church. During the Great Famine in the 1840s, the Rector of nearby Kilmoe, the Revd William Allen Fisher (1808-1880), set up soup kitchens and distributed aid. Funds donated to him were used to build the church in 1847, providing much needed employment in the area.

Fisher had inherited over 250 acres in Co Cork and 320 acres in Co Waterford, and was one of the principal lessors in Kilmoe parish at the time of Griffith’s Valuation. He was a son of Joseph Devonsher Fisher of Woodmount, Co Waterford. He was a fluent Irish speaker wanted to build the church by subscription, and John Ainsworth donated an initial £125.

In 1847, during ‘Black ’47, the Illustrated London News reported that in the village of Schull an average of 25 men, women and children were dying every day of starvation, dysentery or famine fever. At nearby Cove, the population fell from 254 in 1841 to 53 in 1851.

In Toormore, however, over the same period, the fall was relatively slight – from 370 to 343. Why this was is not known, but some believe that one factor was the relief carried out by Fisher.

As the crisis deepened, Fisher begged for help from well-wishers both in Ireland and England. As the money came in, Fisher set up soup kitchens and distributed food, medicine, blankets and clothing. But he wanted to do more than hand out charity. A man of his time, he firmly believed in the dignity of labour and wanted to provide paid work.

According to his son-in-law, Fisher ‘asked for and obtained the permission of some of those who had made him their almoner’ to use the gifts on a building project. This was originally to have been a new schoolhouse but, as more money came in, Fisher embraced a more ambitious plan that involved building a church for the townlands of Toormore and Altar.

Inside Teampol na mBocht, built in 1847 by the Revd William Allen Fisher (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

The building was begun and completed in 1847. Local tradition says that in order to maximise the work and to give as much paid employment as possible to the poorest of the poor, Fisher decided that no horses or carts would be used in building the church.

The stone was quarried nearby and carried to the site by hand alone. As Fisher wrote in a report on the church, “the employment was given chiefly by contract, so that the poor were able to work about their cabins, fishing etc. at the same time that they earned a subsistence for themselves.”

Fisher called it ‘The Church of the Poor’ because it was the poor people who built it. Fisher loved the Irish language and was so fluent that the British Museum often sent him ancient manuscripts for translation. This also explains why Teampol na mBocht is the only church in the Church of Ireland Church that has an Irish name.

For many in the Church of Ireland, William Fisher is a saintly figure, a scholarly man who was happiest with his books, but who worked ceaselessly and selflessly for 40 years in a remote parish, giving all his time and strength to the poor, the hungry and the sick, until he himself died of famine fever in 1880.

But for his detractors, Fisher was a ‘souper,’ whose many projects on the Mizen Peninsula, including building his church, had only one purpose: to win converts from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Ireland.

Certainly, Fisher impoverished himself on behalf of his parishioners. The Fisher estates in Co Cork, Co Waterford and King’s County (Offaly) was offered for sale in the Landed Estates Court in November 1865. The Waterford property was advertised again in July 1866 as it had been offered for sale in April that year but the sale had been adjourned for want of bidders.

The three-light Fisher windows in the chancel of Altar Church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

The walls of the church in Altar are of natural undressed stone bonded with earth. In an unfinished letter, Fisher explained that the church was “built in the pattern of the old Irish churches. The vestry and southern porch give it a cruciform appearance. It has a chancel, the arch entering which is a cyclopic arch, and the tops of the windows are the same. Its nave is 65 foot by 25 foot. Its gable is an equilateral triangle.”

The octagonal font is said to date from the 15th Century and came from Kilkirean Church on Cape Clear Island. It was donated by Tullagh Parish, Baltimore, and installed in 1935. The original font is said to be buried in the church grounds.

The organ was built in 1824 by Flight and Robson of London, and is one of the few remaining organs in Ireland built by that famous company, it was bought in 1918 to replace an old harmonium, and the cost, including installation, was £147.

At the east end, the three stained glass windows in the sanctuary were given by Fisher’s grandson, the Revd RBC Carson. The central window is dedicated to Fisher’s wife, Anna Waggett Fisher. The two outer windows commemorate Elizabeth Carson, Fisher’s daughter and the mother of the donor.

The plaque in Altar Church honouring the Revd William Allen Fisher (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

A marble plaque on the north side of the chancel arch honours the Revd William Fisher. The inscription reads:

Sacred to the memory of
Rev. William Allen Fisher A.B.
Born 14th Nov 1808 Died 7th Aug 1880
For 38 years Rector of Kilmoe
his zeal for the spiritual and temporal
good of his people never abated
Faithfulness to his divine master
and benevolence to the poor of his
flocked ever marked his course.
To his untiring energy are due to the erection
and endownment of this church
“His being dead yet speakth”
Heb[rews] IX.4.

“I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me
write blessed are the dead
which died in the Lord henceforth
yea saith the spirit that they may
rest from their labours
and their works do follow them”
Heb[rews] XIV.13

At the west end of the church, the entrance porch has a stained glass window of Saint Michael the Archangel in the memory of Michael Allen, a parishioner who served in the Indian Mutiny.

Other plaques around the church record other gifts, donations and parishioners. In the vestry are portraits and photographs of the incumbents who have served Teampol na mBocht since it was built almost 170 years ago.

The window at the west end of the church commemorates Michael Allen (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Bishops Appeal – Fund-Raising Concert

The following news item, adapted from a blog posting last week, appears in this morning’s edition [22 May 2016] of the Bunclody Union Newsletter in Co Wexford:

Bishops Appeal – Fund-Raising Concert

(By kind permission of Rev’d Patrick Comerford)

What promises to be a fun evening for a good cause has been organised for Christ Church Cathedral next month. The Great American Songbook concert is in aid of Bishops’ Appeal and is taking place in the Cathedral on Tuesday 16 June at 8 pm.

This promises to be a fantastic evening with the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Orchestra from Chicago, conducted by Allan Dennis, and the Irish tenor, Paul Byrom.

The programme includes an evening of popular classics and show songs from some of the most accomplished young musicians in the US who will showcase the best songs from Broadway musicals, Hollywood films and theatre stages, celebrating works having melodies that have become timeless treasures.

The causes supported by the Bishops’ Appeal include fund-raising effort on behalf of a solar panel for al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.

The Residential Priest Vicar in Christ Church Cathedral, the Revd Garth Bunting is already committed to raising €10,000 through the cathedral towards installing solar panels at al-Ahli Hospital, and the cathedral board is supporting the venture with a donation from its charitable giving.

Tickets for the concert on 16 June are only €15 each and are available here.

Reporting the General Synod in ‘The Church of Ireland Gazette’

Patsy McGarry of ‘The Irish Times’ (left) and Canon Patrick Comerford

‘The Church of Ireland Gazette’ this weekend (20 May 2016) carries extensive reports from the General Synod of the Church of Ireland, which took place in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, last week, including this photograph on p 8 and this full page report on p 5:

1916 commemorations and plight of refugees
highlighted at Standing Committee debate

The centenary commemorations for the 1916 anniversaries, including the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme, and the Church’s response to the refugee crisis, emerged as the two principal concerns during the debate on the report of the Standing Committee.

“The Church of Ireland, as it straddles two political jurisdictions and holds together people of differing political viewpoints in its membership, has a very valuable role to play here,” Archdeacon Adrian Wilkinson (Cork, Cloyne and Ross) told the General Synod.

Archdeacon Wilkinson, who was proposing the report, said “the year 1916 is one etched in the consciousness of all Irish people, whatever their political views. For some, it is inextricably linked to the Battle of the Somme when on the 1st July, the first day of that battle, there were 5,500 casualties from the 36th Ulster Division. Later that year, in a continuation of the same battle, the 16th Irish Division, made up largely of men from the three other provinces, had 4,300 casualties. In the horror of war, men from both traditions in this island, fought supported one another, suffered and died together.”

Referring to the Easter Rising in 1916, he described the way it has been commemorated in schools throughout the Republic, and the national events and many local initiatives organised “to contribute to reflection, discussion, education, debate and commemoration over the past year.”

Turning to the special liturgy written to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, he said: “The Bidding Prayer included in that service states that ‘in remembering the events of 100 years ago, we the Church are called to give voice to shared suffering, silenced and untold stories, the many and nuanced narratives, bravery and heroism, and commitment to ideals that were underpinned by shared and common aspirations’.”

He predicted “considerable challenges lie ahead” with the anniversaries of events during the Irish War of Independence.”

Pauline High (Connor), who seconded the report, highlighted the work of the Bishops’ Appeal Advisory Committee.

She told synod there had been a general increase in giving for 2015. “However, with an ever increasing seriousness of the current refugee crisis and numerous disasters and emergency appeals requiring our attention there is always room for improvement.”

Bishop Patrick Rooke (Tuam, Killala and Achonry), Chair of Bishops’ Appeal Fund, described the current refugee situation, particularly in the Republic of Ireland, and also spoke of the need for a committee to address urgent needs in Ireland, such as recent floodings.

He pointed to a recent report in the Church of Ireland Gazette by Lydia Monds, the education officer of the Bishops’ Appeal, and her description of offers of accommodation and practical work to help with the refugee crisis in Ireland.

Bishop Rooke spoke of how many refugees arrive psychologically traumatised. They face a slow process, and this has been complicated by delays in forming a new government in the Republic of Ireland, and debates about the Turkey agreement, he said.

But he was encouraged by much that is happening behind the scenes. He reminded Synod that Church groups will be asked to provide hospitality and welcome, and the responses will determine success or failure of the programme.

There are 4,500 asylum seekers in direct provision centres, he said, but they have nowhere else to go.

“The issues are already staring us in the face,” he said. The Government needs to be pressed into action to help asylum seekers, migrants and refugees.

Dean Katharine Poulton (Ossory) spoke of a project in the Diocese of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory to provide wellington boots and shoes for people who had arrived in Co Waterford and who would otherwise not have been able to go for walks on the beach.

She also praised the value of art therapy projects and efforts to the new arrivals to buy clothing. “Think on a local small level,” she said. “Reach out through those who are on the ground.”

Bishop Ken Good (Derry and Raphoe) said 20,000 Syrian refugees are expected to arrive in UK over the next five years. The beginnings have been very, very small, with two small groups of about 50 or so people in each group arriving in Northern Ireland recently.

He described the support offered in pilot projects that he hoped could be replicated throughout Northern Ireland.

Canon Horace McKinley (Dublin) pointed out that many of the reports on refugees concentrate on the crises in Europe and the Middle East. But he also pointed to the high numbers of refugees throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America, and said this is a global problem that is here and is not going to go away.

The Rev Stephen Neill (Killaloe) objected to way same-sex relations were in danger of continuing to be treated as criminal when they are spoken of in the same bracket as trafficking, sexual abuse and domestic violence. This debate re-emerged later in the synod during the debate on the report of Select Commission on Human Sexuality in the Context of Human Belief.

In seconding the report, Mrs High also spoke of the work of the Northern Ireland Community Relations Working Group which keeps a watching brief on community relations issues in Northern Ireland. “At times there are endless opportunities for us to enter the public arena and speak into difficult and often inflammatory situations, to bring God’s grace and love to a hurting world.”

Later, Ken Gibson (Connor) spoke of the effect of continuing loyalist violence.

The Standing Committee report ran to 87 pages. Bishop Harold Miller (Down and Dromore) pointed out that most of the report was taken up with appendices, including reports on the Priorities Fund and the Church and Society Commission, as well as charity legislation, stipends and pensions.

In his opening speech, Archdeacon Wilkinson paid tribute to Mrs Eithne Harkness, who stood down as one of the honorary secretaries in June 2015, the new honorary secretary, Mr Ken Gibson, the synod office, Mr Garret Casey, who resigned in September 2015, and his successor, Dr Catherine Smyth.