One of Glenfin's most beautiful landmarks - the Church
of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour - was erected between the
years 1925 and 1928.
My trip around Glenfin was interesting, but sad. A well
preserved photograph of eleven of the workers revealed that
ten of them had passed away. (See
'Recollections of a Parishioner')
The Dundalk firm of Builders had two very efficient men
at the helm, the foreman joiner and the foreman builder.
These gentlemen picked their skilled and semi-skilled men
from the local population. Putting in the foundations was
naturally a very important job.
Good concrete, napped stone, and reinforcing irons were
all necessary. When the architect arrived, he discovered
that the first batch of concrete had been put down - but
the reinforcing irons had not been painted! His first reaction
was that he should sack the lot! This incident shows the
attention to detail which was typical of the whole construction
process.
The Foundation Stone was laid with an inscription in
Gaelic and in English. Unfortunately, the Gaelic inscription
is on the inside of the cavity wall, and cannot be seen
from the outside.
Cart men were busy transporting stones, most of which came
from Mountcharles and were delivered to Cloghan Station
by County Donegal Railways.
Masons helpers, joiners helpers, and hand-barrow men were
picked. Another very important man arrived - the coin-puncher,
or as some described him, the stone-dresser.
The building left the ground, and another Glenfin man got
the 'shout'...a scaffolder. His was a very important task,
as the safety of so many depended on his expertise. However,
he carried out his work most efficiently both inside and
outside, until at last the final slate was in position -
I never once heard it said that there was a slip or an accident
of any kind.
The work progresed very well - indeed, I would say, according
to plan. During the erection of the Couples, the foreman
joiner decided to put a small arch down inside the wall.
This was an efficiently finished job, as you can see. I
must mention another Glenfin man - the smithy. It was in
Irish that I heard mention of him - "Se an gábha
sin thall a bhuail agus a chám ant-iarann a bhí
a dhíth air leis na cúplai a shníomhadh".
No need to refer to the windows - you can take a look
around yourself and you can read the list of donors. You
will discover that most of them, sadly, have left the land
of the living.
Another man whom I must mention, was referred to locally
as the man who arrived at 'quitting-time'. The coping stones
that support the double arches on both side-aisles were
just square stones until this little man laid his holy and
skilled hands over them, and left them as you see them today.
This little man was the envy of all - for he actually earned
over seven pounds for six days' work!
This brings me to the mention of pay and hours. I met only
two men in Glenfin who worked at this historic building.
I am told that their pay was twenty-seven shillings per
week. I enquired about starting time, I was informed that
it was 8a.m. but there was no mention of 'quitting-time'.
It would appear that it depended on the whim of the foreman!
I am informed that the parish priest, Fr. Anthony Gallagher,
at this time a very sick man, was taken out of then Parochial
House on a chair in order to bless the Cross that was to
be erected on the summit of the front gable. The man who
carried this Cross up the ladder to the top scaffold, was
granted the rest of the day off!
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Glenfin
Chapel and Hall during refurbishment - April 2002
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Small wonder, as he richly deserved a rest after performing
such a herculean feat!
I feel that the workers who performed such a wonderful
task, and who in doing so, endured so many hardships, must
now be in Heaven. The journey that some of them had to make
was in itself a day's work. Although some of them had some
crude form of transport, many came on foot, and I am told
that one man had to rent a field for his little donkey.
It was exciting to meet a man who had napped stones for
the Foundation, and who helped the joiner to erect the Stations
of the Cross, and place the Sanctuary Lamp in position.
The story is told of one man who called at the joiner's
room one day and asked him to make a stool for him. The
foreman happened to be in the background, and overheard
the conversation.
"What do you want the stool for?" enquired the
foreman. "To sit on, while I nap stones" answered
the embarrased labourer. "Never worry" replied
the foreman - "I'll find you a stool at the week-end".
The poor man received his 'cards' that very week-end.
Another sign of the times!
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Did
You Know?
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During the time of the Eucharistic Congress,
held in Dublin in 1922, a special, open-air
Mass to mark the occasion was held in Killygordon.
Over 2000 people, representing all the churches
is the Valley, knelt on the concrete of the
Main Street to hear the Mass, which was celebrated
by the late Rev. Patrick Devlin, parish priest
of Donoughmore.
With so few people owning motorcars at the
time, there was little vehicular traffic on
the road to disturb the gathering.
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A certain lady congratulated one of the local workers,
who, despite his hard work and long hours succeeded in having
his crop planted and his turf cut. "How on earth do
you manage to do it?" she asked. His reply came in
Gaelic: "Obair an Dómhnaigh, a bhean úasal,
agus Bábhtanna beaga in ndiadh na h-óiche".
The final incident I shall mention, is, I feel, best related
in Gaelic.
Bhí siad ag obair go cruaidh trathnóna ahmáin,
agus ni raibh iomra ar bith ag an 'ghaffer' iad a leigint
'na bhaile.
"Nil moill air-sean fanacht mall, ag siúl thart
ansin. Béidh dinnéar mór feola ag an
Bhaintreach Rua dó nuair a rachaidh se síar"
arsa fear amháin. "Beidh sé aniar ti
Mhuiris fa choinne deoch maith ina dhiadh sin", arsa
fear eile.
"Beidh Mhuiris ina 'mhillionáire' nuair a bhéas
teach an phobail tógtha".
"Dheamhan a shaothar dó".
"Cad tuige nach mbeadh is an méid atáhar
ag ól ann, agus an méid ata ag teacht aníar
anseo, mar adúirt an sagart O Gallchobair go suaitheadh
sé an Moirteal?"
"Is cuma, níl Muiris ag déanamh aon
mhaith" arsa'n fear eile. "Agus cad tuige nach
bhuil sé ag deanamh aon mhaith?"
"Maise, Cluinim iad uilig mholadh".
Caitfidh sé go raibh siad uilig ól leath
- chean le cois na cannaí tae a bhi cáilin
an tsagairt ag déanamh dófa. Tháinig
fear anuais chuig cailín an tsagairt fa choinne canna
tae lá amháin. Thit siad amach. Caitfidh sé
na rabh aird aici ar a dhóigliuíleacht sin,
na ara chuid dóigheanna, mar chaith sí buicead
uisce air agus é ag dul amach an doras cúl.
Cé thainig thart an coirneal san am chéanna
ach an sagart O Gallcobhair. Rinne sé a sháith
gáire, agus bhí an fear a fuair an báisteadh
trom ina ábhar magaidh go cíonn fada go leor!
My trip around Glenfin ended when I called to see a lady
now living outside the parish. She was no other than one
of the late Fr. Gallagher's housekeepers. She told me that
she met a very important student in Glenfin in those days.
I wonder if he remembers her? The student was to be the
future Bishop of Raphoe - Most Rev. Dr. MacFeely. And the
housekeeper - Mrs. Hugh Ward, Glenties.
The following is a list of most of the workmen employed
in the building of the new Church.
| Hand-barrow men |
Jimmy McGlynn and Patrick McGinty |
| Cartmen |
Joe Harkin, John Marley and James
Tourish |
| Painter |
Micky McKelvey |
| Coin Puncher |
Stranger in town |
| Scaffolder |
Dinnie McCrudden |
| Blacksmith |
Conal Harkin |
| Glaziers |
Strangers in town |
| Sculptor who arrived at quitting time |
Stranger in town |
| The man who carried the Cross to it's resting place |
Jimmy Gallagher |
| Part-time stone-napper |
Patrick Houston |
| General handyman |
Jimmy Carlin |
| Part-time housekeeper to Fr.
Gallagher |
Mrs. Hugh Ward |
These were some of the men who worked with the men at the
helm during the construction of the Church in Glenfin. For
Neil Colburn and Michael Copus - the foreman builder and
foreman joiner - the task was adaunting one. But to their
great credit, ably assisted by local help, they left behind
them a wonderful building. Romance entered in too, of course.
The Moneen road, east of Brockagh, was christened 'Dundalk
Road'. It was there that two Glenfin ladies kept appointments
with their future husbands. Before too long, they accompanied
them 'down the Aisle' of the New Church, bade farewell to
Glenfin and Donegal, and left to set up new homes in Dundalk.
P. MacGloinn, 1978
