Historic church 'should be handed over' to the people of this town in Tipperary
The Friary in Clonmel 'must not be deconsecrated' in any way
The Mayor of Clonmel and Clonmel Borough District have contacted Brother Aidan McGrath, the Franciscan Order’s Provincial Minister of the Province of Ireland, to offer its help in any way to ensure that the Friary in Clonmel can remain open.
The suggestion was made by the Mayor, Pat English, at the Borough District’s monthly meeting.
Cllr English said that the church’s closure two years ago had come as a huge shock. The Franciscans had been in Clonmel since 1269 and the church in Abbey Street was a major cornerstone of the town’s history.
It was dear to the hearts of so many people. When the church reopened as the Abbey House of Prayer, the steering committee that looked after the church did a tremendous job, he said.
However, there had been shock and sadness when the Franciscans announced just before Christmas that the church was to close permanently.
Since then, the members of the Abbey House of Prayer committee and others have staged a sit-in at the church in protest against its closure.
Cllr Niall Dennehy said that the church shouldn’t be deconsecrated in any way, as had happened with other churches in Clonmel at the former St Luke’s Hospital and the former Kickham army barracks.
If the Friary wasn’t deconsecrated that would make it far more difficult for the Franciscans to “offload” it to anyone, he said.
Cllr Richie Molloy said the Franciscans had handed over the friary in Carrick-on-Suir to the people of the town, and the same should happen in Clonmel. They should find out if the Franciscans had handed over the friary in Carrick-on-Suir to the people or the council.
There was huge shock and disappointment in the town since the closure announcement was made.
Cllr Molloy said he attended the last Mass on New Year’s Eve, at which there was a huge turnout, and he supported Cllr English’s call to write to the Franciscans.
The people of Clonmel had supported the Franciscans over many years. There was a story that whenever the friars were hungry, they would ring the church bells and the people of the town would bring them food.
Cllr Molloy said that in places like London you saw beautiful churches that had been converted into restaurants, but they didn’t want that to happen with the Friary.
It was a listed building and one of the best-looking churches in the town.
The council had to support the people of the town, who didn’t want to see it lost, said Cllr Molloy.
Cllr Siobhán Ambrose said they should write to the Franciscans and ascertain what their intentions were for the building.
They should also find out what had happened to change the agreement that the order had entered with the Abbey House of Prayer committee. That arrangement seemed to be working fine from everybody’s perspective.
People were delighted that they could go in there every day, and that a Mass was celebrated each week.
Cllr Ambrose said she had attended the Clonmel Rugby Club choir concert at the Friary before Christmas. To everybody’s amazement, the announcement to close the church was made the following day.
The Franciscans had been in the town 756 years, and while there was an issue with falling vocations in all religious orders, the Friary had a special place in the hearts of the people of Clonmel, and there was huge devotion to St Anthony.
Cllr Tom Acheson acknowledged the pain felt by people over the closure of the church, and he agreed with the sentiments of the other members.
However, he said they should be a little bit cautious when writing to the Franciscans, because if the order handed the church over to the Borough District they would have the headache of looking after it.
He also pointed out that the Franciscans had paid €80,000 towards the upkeep of the church in 2024.