St Mary's

St. Mary's Church, Bunclody 

St. Mary's is the largest church in the parish and stands majestically on a beautiful height rising from the top of the picturesque tree lined Mall in the main street of the town. Green banks decorated by mature rhododendron, lime and cherry trees front the church. The adjoining burial ground surrounds the building and contains monuments and tombs dating back into the eighteenth century. The memorials and grounds are kept in excellent order and neatness much to the credit of connected families and keepers. The Church building has an interesting history, probably not known to many. It was built about the year 1775, and the parish of Newtownbarry (now Bunclody) was constituted in 1776. The structure is stone built, plastered internally and rough textured dashing externally, with exposed cut granite stone forming the contrasting main features of the church. The steeple is of cut stone with four spires flanking the main spire rising to the weathercock and contains the bell, which was erected in memory of the Rt. Hon. Dr. Henry Maxwell, Lord Bishop of Meath, who died in 1798. The original spire was of wooden construction and was much higher than the present structure. 

Around the late 1700's the wooden spire required constant work to control water penetration to the main roof timbers. It was necessary to raise taxes in order to fund the expense of painting and upkeep of the wooden structure. In 1802 plans were discussed to build a gallery in the church to resolve the problem of overcrowding due to the large numbers attending from the nearby parish of Barragh. A meeting of the Vestry in 1802 resolved that the parishioners of Barragh "should voluntarily contribute towards erecting a Gallery in the church for their own accommodation" In 1807 plans and estimates were received from the stone cutters and carpenters, and around this time the present gallery was built. From his book "Bun Cloidi," Father Wall tells us that the church was enlarged to hold about 400 persons. About 1830, a grant of £548 was received from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for the repairs to the church. About 1860, the church had been "turned around sideways" the nave being added around this time. The chancel was built around this time also. In 1871, it was decided to erect a new stone spire. The new spire would contain 430 linear feet of cut granite stone at a cost of one shilling and eight pence a foot. It was the responsibility of the parishioners to draw the stones from the quarry. Mr Hall-Dare kindly donated the poles and planks to form the scaffolding. Doyles of Borris undertook the building of the spire. The Hall-Dare family contributed much to the improvements of the church. After the death of Mr. Hall-Dare in 1876 the west end of the church was extended and a rose window erected to his memory. Across the gable, on the outside, are the words "These stones shall be for a memorial". The gable wall of this extension is constructed of large square granite blocks, each one handsomely cut. The rose window surrounds are also of cut granite, beautifully designed to form an eight-petaled formation and enhanced with a fine example of stained glass with a biblical theme. The chancel window was installed in memory of Robert Wesley Hall-Dare who died in 1866 and of Frances H.C. Hall-Dare who died in 1862. There are other fine examples of stained glass windows throughout the church also donated to the memory of members of the Hall-Dare family. From those times to the present day, various fine memorials to parishioners have been donated to the church, adding to the character of such an establishment. In April of 1897, the weathercock required repairs and was taken down by a steeplejack from Aghade. In December of 1897, a crack was inspected in the top of the spire with "good glasses". In 1898, the weathercock was taken down again and the stonework was repaired for the sum of twenty pounds. The work was carried out by a Mr. Joseph Blackburn from Nottingham. In February of 1926, Col. Butler reported to the Vestry of the dangerous state of the wooden frame supporting the bell in the tower. 

The bell was rehung on a new steel girder frame and mounted on ball bearings for the sum of twelve pounds. About 1930, further cracks appeared in the top of the spire. Some of the copper bands that were placed around the spire to secure the stonework had broken. The repairs were carried out by a Mr Bacon which involved fitting eight new copper bands for the sum of forty five pounds and a lightening rod for seventeen pounds. In February 1967, a letter from the Diocesan Architect reported that the spire was eight inches out of true, and recommended that it be examined further. Messrs. J. Rainey & Co. Ltd. examined the spire and reported that the necessary repairs would be carried out for the sum of nine hundred and ninety six pounds and twelve shillings. The job was completed in 1968, involving the removal of the copper bands and the top eight rows of stone and replacement with matching precast concrete sections, being clearly visible to this day. 

In August , 1980, a portion of land adjoining the churchyard was purchased from the local GAA club as an extension to the burial ground. During the year of 1980, following a routine inspection of the church, a small area of the roof was found to contain that dreaded dry rot fungus, Serpula Lacrymans, which involved the replacement and reinforcement of a small part of the main roof structure. Unfortunately, one never knows how serious the extent of repairs are required in this type of building, until the job commences, and it was only then, following further inspections, and one repair leading to another, that it was found necessary to replace the complete roof. 

In 1983, major restoration work began. The old slates and laths were removed and new laths, felt, slates and guttering fitted, the work being completed in 1984. The following few years saw a lot of various fund raising events, which were supported generously by many local people in order to raise money for the "repair fund". To add "salt to the wounds" a large portion of the churchyard wall along Church Road collapsed onto the street in 1981. Following many meetings and negotiations with local Co. Council, the reconstruction of the wall was completed almost ten years later! The addition of "wall to wall" carpeting this year, adds to the comfort, and compliments the splendid condition of St. Mary's today. As described by George Henry Basset in 1885, "The inside of the church fulfils the expectations excited by the outside and surroundings". One could use these words again today. It has been proven that history will repeat itself; there will be more repairs and restorations. Our contribution to the life of such a building is most important to ensure that churches like St. Mary's Bunclody, will stand proud as a place of worship for many generations to come.