St Malachy's Church, Belfast
Saint Malachy's Church is a Catholic Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is located in Alfred Street, a short distance from Belfast City Hall. The Church is the focal point of the local parish community and Saint Malachy's Parish is one of the 88 parishes in the Diocese of Down and Connor. After Saint Mary's Church in Chapel Lane and St Patrick's Church, Belfast in Donegall Street, Saint Malachy's is the third oldest Catholic Church in the city of Belfast.
In the beginning Saint Malachy's was administered by the priests of Saint Mary's Parish until The Parish of Saint Malachy was created in 1866 and Fr Geoffrey Brennan was appointed Administrator. The first Parish Priest of Saint Malachy's, a post created in 1909, was Fr Daniel McCashin.
History
The Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Cornelius Denvir had for a long period during the 1830s sought an appropriate location for a third church to cater for the burgeoning Catholic population. Mr Adam McClean, a Protestant merchant and owner of the large expanse of property behind Donegall Square South known as 'McClean's Fields', offered the Bishop a site on attractive terms. A lease was signed on the 1st May, 1839 whereby Adam McClean leased to Mr Hugh Magill in trust for the Catholics of Belfast the parcel of building ground fronting Alfred St. The site actually consisted of three plots, Dr Denvir having previously negotiated purchase of a small block, and a block gifted by Mr McClean.On November 3, 1841, the feast of Saint Malachy, the foundation stone for Saint Malachy's Church was laid. On December 15, 1844 Dr William Crolly, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland dedicated the building. Dr Crolly was a native and former Bishop of the Diocese of Down and Connor. Originally Saint Malachy's was intended to be the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Down and Connor and was to seat 7,000 worshippers however due to financial difficulties a smaller building was constructed. Consequently, the Church is regarded as one of the finest examples of Tudor Revival churches in Ireland.
Interior
The Church was designed by Thomas Jackson of Waterford and it is in the ecclesiastical style of the Tudor period. It is cruciform in shape, 113 feet wide, 52 feet wide and 40 feet high. The original High Altar, Pulpit and Altar Rails were of Irish Oak however they were replaced with marble when the Church was renovated in 1926. All that remains of the original ornaments is the canopy over the pulpit which has been painted white to match the marble of the present altar furnishings. The Sanctuary floor is mosaic, the principal colour being blue. At the foot of the Altar is a pelican, a common Christian symbol of sacrifice.Saint Malachy's is, perhaps, best known for its fan vaulted ceiling which is an imitation of the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey. Sir Charles Brett stated: It is as though a wedding cake has been turned inside out, so creamy, lacy and frothy is the plasterwork. There are two Side Altars in the Church, on either side of the Sanctuary. One is dedicated to Saint Joseph, the other to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church also has statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Saint Philomena, Saint Malachy himself, and Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, known as "The Ragged Saint" by the people of Belfast and throughout Ireland.
World War II
During the Second World War there were a number of raids on Belfast by the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force. On one occasion, during the infamous Belfast Blitz of Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941, a bomb landed in front of the Church and, while it did not cause any structural damage to the Church, many of the windows were blown in. A second bomb landed at the nearby Gasworks. The explosion caused a huge vacuum in the local area which literally sucked out the remainder of the windows and the original Irish Oak frames were destroyed.Being a time of war, it was impossible to replace the oak window frames and so they were replaced in concrete, something that was to prove more damaging than the German bombs. Over 60 years the strength of the concrete destroyed the bricks surrounding these frames and by the time the Restoration work was complete upwards of 80,000 bricks needed to be replaced. While the Church suffered a great deal of damage during the War it was still kept open by doing the work in stages, sometimes with half the building closed off.
Restoration
The area of the city around Saint Malachy's was dramatically re-developed from the early 1980s. That period of urban planning, and the age of the church itself, led to a deterioration in the condition of the brickwork meaning a full scale Restoration Programme which began in January 2008 and was completed in 2009 at a cost of £3,500,000. The interior of the Church was also been restored.The ornate stencilling around the Sanctuary, painted over in the 1950s, was restored as were the Altar Rails and the intricate mosaic floor. The Solemn Re-Opening and Dedication of the Altar was celebrated on March 29, 2009 by the Bishop of Down and Connor Dr Noel Treanor in the presence of the Bishop Emeritus Dr Patrick Walsh.
This was the first time that Saint Malachy's had been closed for an extended period since the Church was opened in 1844. During the Restoration, Nuptial and Requiem Masses were celebrated in neighbouring Churches.
- Sunday Masses are: Vigil 6pm; 9.30am, 11.30am and 5pm.
- Weekday Masses are at 1pm, Monday to Friday; 8am on Mondays and Fridays.
- Confessions are at 5.30pm on Saturdays.
Clergy
- Rev. Geoffrey Brennan Adm.
- Rev. John P. Greene Adm.
- Very Rev. Daniel McCashin PP
- Ven. Archdeacon John McKinley PP VG
- Right Rev. Monsignor Canon James Clenaghan PP VG
- Ven. Archdeacon John Macaulay PP
- Right Rev. Monsignor Dean Francis Kerr PP VG
- Very Rev. Canon John McSparran PP
- Very Rev. Canon James Close PP
- Very Rev. Alexander Darragh PP
- Very Rev. Canon Peter McCann PP
- Very Rev. Anthony Curran PP VF
- Very Rev. Michael McGinnity PP
1866-1910
- Rev. J. Hamill
- Rev. J. Canavan
- Rev. J. Ryan
- Rev. P. Magorrian
- Rev. M. Hamill
- Rev. J. Moore
- Rev. E. Hassett
- Rev. B. McCann
- Rev. J. O'Boyle
- Rev. R. Crickard
- Rev. T. Twomey
- Rev. J. McArdle
- Rev. J. McIlvenny
- Rev. R. Smyth
- Rev. J. Kennedy
- Rev. D. McGorrian
- Rev. A. Quinn
- Rev. J. Quinn
- Rev. W. McCourt
- Rev. P. McErlean
- Rev. H. Heffron
- Rev. A. Tully
- Rev. M. Laverty
- Rev. F. C. Henry
- Rev. W. J. Kelly
- Rev. J. Nolan
- Rev. D. Magennis
- Rev. M. Leahy
- Rev. G. Crolly
- Rev. B. Laverty
- Rev. J. F. Shiels
- Rev. B. Laverty
- Rev. J. Boylan
- Rev. G. McKay
- Rev. T. McGowan
- Rev. J. Walsh
- Rev. T. H. McAuley
- Rev. D. Tuathail
- Rev. J. Gillan
- Rev. J. McSparran
- Rev. J. Gillan
- Rev. J. McSparran
- Rev. E. Diamond
- Rev. F. Kerr
- Rev. V. Davey
- Rev. D. J. Morgan
- Rev. R. Rogan
- Rev. J. Dean
- Rev. A. Connolly
- Rev. J. Dean
- Rev. A. Connolly
- Rev. F. Scullin
- Rev. J. Moloney
- Rev. F. Corr
- Rev. A. Scott
- Rev. J. Fitzpatrick
- Rev. J. Kennedy
- Rev. Vincent Leonard
- Rev. Denis McAteer
- Rev. Patrick McCrea
- Rev. Aidan Kerr
- Rev. Denis Newberry
- Rev. Andrew McGrattan
- Rev. Anthony McHugh
- Rev. Anthony Curran
- Rev. Michael Sheehan
- Rev. Brian McCann
- Rev. Martin Graham
The Great Bell