On 20 August, a 'paint bomb' was thrown at the home of a Protestant man in Hesketh Park, smashing a window and causing paint damage to furniture. [21], Since the end of the protest, steps have been taken to heal relations. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. I returned to the BBC happy the protest was now over and looked forward to an easy day. When Fr Raphael, Fr Alphonsus and Brother Luke arrived in August 1868 they were met with hugely unpromising circumstances - not only was there no house, no church and no school, but the site was additionally encumbered by a debt of 1,000. Shots were also fired at the police and over 100 petrol bombs were thrown. In Northern Ireland it is a criminal offence to withhold information of a crime from the police. [22] Catholic parents and Protestant residents held separate meetings to discuss the situation. Chris Donnelly: The Orange Order can learn from File an Phobail, Bella Blue Eyes can continue progress with Killarney win, Watch My Tracer should defy penalty to score at Windsor. Of all of them, Holy Cross is the name I most remember, with very good reason. [24], The Holy Cross protest was said to have heightened sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland in a way not seen since the Drumcree dispute in the mid-1990s. The twin spires of Holy Cross stand proudly on the hill of Ardoyne. However, eventually parents were able to walk their children to school without a police and Army escort. ", Woman one: "I'm past feeling. As the trouble worsened, 200 police officers, backed by 200 soldiers, were deployed. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. "You're also only as good as your last game. In Holy Cross Girls' we offer a child centred education. Three Catholic-owned homes on Newington Avenue were badly damaged in a loyalist pipe bomb attack. Ardoyne, attends "Regular, practising Catholics will be very aware of this issue. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Monday 5 November: Protesters said they had reached an "understanding" with the, Wednesday 7 November: The mother of a child attending the school began legal proceedings against John Reid and the police. There must be. Saint Charles gave this prayer to a young girl, Pauline, advising her to say it every day saying that he desired that she become a great saint. 2023 BBC. For a piece of this land so seemingly small in scale, Ardoyne has suffered and endured far beyond what may seem fair. The congregation was told their presence was "a tribute to the generations of people and Passionists who strove to keep the flame of faith alive in their hearts and homes, families and neighbourhoods". STRESS: Fr John Craven said the funeral Mass for Bridie McDonnell in the car park of Holy Cross Church in Ardoyne on Friday. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Holy Cross dispute occurred in 2001 and 2002 in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, Northern Ireland. The history of this unique parish has been told in a lovingly produced book compiled for the 150th anniversary, Holy Cross Ardoyne, 1869-2019 - The Passionists and the People. [28], In the early hours of Sunday 23 April 2017, a bomb was found by a police patrol outside the gates of Holy Cross Boys' Primary School in Ardoyne. Celebrating 150 years of the Passionist ministry in Ardoyne. With only seven priests in the diocese aged under 40, he said that in just over 10 years the number of priests in active ministry would be almost half what it is today. ", Me: "How would you have felt this morning if a child had been killed? The place where Catholic schoolgirls as young as four were shamefully attacked during the blockade of Holy Cross primary school in 2001, making headlines around the world. During the riots the police fired a number of the new 'L21 A1' plastic baton rounds for the first time. Ex-Ardoyne priest Fr Aidan Troy does a U-turn over call to let Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD - LIVE NOW: HOLY MASS 9:30AM - Facebook There I met mostly good people trapped by location and a history they didn't write. Picture by Hugh Russell, Fr Eugene McCarthy, Rector at Holy Cross, greets members of the congregation after a Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday to celebrate 150 years of the 'People and Passionists' in Ardoyne. Fr Kieran Creagh is expected to move back to his native north Belfast at the end of. Tucked away at the Glenbryn end of the Ardoyne Road is the Catholic Holy Cross Girls' Primary School. [4] The next day, loyalists retaliated by shooting dead Catholic man Gary Moore as he was renovating a house in Newtownabbey. Thursday 20 September: Protesters reverted to the earlier tactic of making a lot of noise as the children passed. This left Holy Cross in the middle of a Protestant area and some of the schoolchildren had to walk through it to get to school. But within the parish, the legacy of Passionists such as Fr Justin Coyne, Fr Fernando Carberry and Fr Joseph Carroll, Fr Myles Kavanagh and a galaxy of others, still shines bright. How the episode started remains disputed. We have strong links to our parish and have dedicated priests to help prepare the children for the sacraments. Hundreds of riot police, backed up by British soldiers, escorted the children and parents through the protest each day. The security forces remained outside the school for several months after. [12], The morning blockade continued on Thursday 21 June. Speaking of the events he said: We were going from 5.30 or 6 in the morning to 2am. After that, the protest seemed to peter out. Rev. PRIESTS. Other protesters alleged that IRA members were using the children's journey to-and-from school to gather intelligence. Holy Cross is a friendly Episcopalian (Anglican) church in the heart of the bustling village of Davidson's Mains in the North West of Edinburgh. In January 2002, a scuffle between a Protestant and a Catholic outside the school sparked a large-scale riot in the area and attacks on other schools in north Belfast. A Catholic mother claimed she was punched in the face as she walked home from the school with her child. Disturbances and rioting quickly spread throughout Ardoyne during the evening and into the night. [10] Two Catholic homes were attacked with pipe bombs, and a child was thrown against a wall by one of the blasts. A PRIEST who survived being shot in South Africa is to take up a post at Holy Cross Church in Ardoyne. Baptisms: 2nd and the last Sunday of the Month 1pm. The protest was sparked by false rumours on social networks that Belfast City Council employees were due to arrive to remove the flags and the paint. [21], On Friday 11 January, the Red Hand Defenders issued a death threat against all Catholic teachers and all other staff working at Catholic schools in north Belfast. A sense of outrage was reported in the area. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. During his previous time in Ardoyne there were four priests, which has now reduced to two. Picture by Ann McManus, Fr Eugene McCarthy, rector at Holy Cross Ardoyne, during the mass of thanksgiving. There was a claim one of them was knocked off a ladder. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The school was thrust into the international spotlight, when hundreds of loyalist protesters tried to block the route taken by the school's pupils and their parents, who were from a Catholic background, on their walk to class. "That means I'm double jobbing as I'm also director of the passionist priest peace and reconciliation office.". Tom Kelly: The PSNI is failing. Ardoyne Sinn Fin councillor Margaret McClenaghan says the common perception was that loyalists were being rewarded for intimidating schoolgirls. Read More:Holy Cross celebrates 150 years of carrying the flame of faith. Let Orange Order finish Ardoyne parade: Holy Cross priest Aidan Troy Bishop McKeown is set to continue in his dual role until a permanent Diocesan Bishop for Down and Connor can be appointed. Attacks from one side on the other went both ways and Ardoyne saw more than its fair share. Do we need Patten Mark II? Mission. I did so against the ear-splitting sound of protesters blowing whistles. Fr Raphael, one of the pioneering Passionists who arrived at Ardoyne in 1868 to establish the Holy Cross parish. The north side of the town, pushing uphill along Crumlin Road towards Ardoyne, was at the centre of particular expansion. BT14 7GE, Holy Cross Parish 2022 | parishservices.co. ", Woman one: "I'm not. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, 1st Floor, Chartist Tower, Upper Dock Street, Newport, Wales, NP20 1DW Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. Every child is encouraged to attain her potential, academically, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Fr. Picture from Holy Cross Ardoyne, 1869-2019, People flee their homes in Farringdon Gardens in Ardoyne in August 1971. Parents spoke of how their children had been wetting the bed and had started to throw tantrums and become withdrawn. Chris Donnelly: The Orange Order can learn from File an Phobail, Bella Blue Eyes can continue progress with Killarney win, Watch My Tracer should defy penalty to score at Windsor. [1] The Protestant population of Glenbryn had dropped significantly since the ceasefires and some Protestants believed they were being driven out. The Holy Cross Girls' School, a Catholic primary school which serves the Ardoyne area but is located in the neighbouring loyalist Upper Ardoyne/Glenbryn area was the sign of tension of 2001 to 2003. But the language filmed by reporters and bystanders by GARC leader Dee Fennell and his followers against a priest who stood amongst the Holy Cross schoolchildren who ran the gauntlet of unionist bigotry, bricks, bottles and pipe-bombs in 2001/2002 brought a strong reaction on social media. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. The Passionist parish at Holy Cross, Ardoyne has just celebrated its 150th anniversary. [21], The following day, the Holy Cross school was forced to close for the day. This was the last day of school before the summer break. They were met with difficult circumstances - not only was there no house, no church and no school, but the site had a debt of 1,000. Picture by Ann McManus, Clergy at the Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate 150 years of Holy Cross. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., the "Rosary Priest," whose cause for beatification is . The Northern Ireland Office announced that permanent CCTV cameras would be installed on the Ardoyne Road. There was a report that loyalists had driven a car at the school gates in an attempt to break in. Ninety-nine people from this small community lost their lives in horrendous circumstances; "the crucified was no stranger". Six men appeared before Belfast Magistrates Court on public order offences related to the school protest. Novena Mass, First Friday: 7pm Daily Readings WEBCAM Church Services TV Alternative Link The picket resumed on 3 September, when the new school term began. As a result of the arrests, the group representing the protesters, CRUA, announced that it had "suspended all business until further notice". The trouble came after an explosion at the rear of Catholic homes next to a peace line. However, after violence broke out between the two communities, the area became segregated. Holy Cross Ardoyne Trust - Charity Commission for Northern Ireland [1] Death threats were made against the parents and school staff by the Red Hand Defenders, a loyalist paramilitary group. Dr Dorrian was impressed by the Passionist priests who were leading the mission. The people who hail from this proud parish may be identified as coming from Belfast, but each and every one proclaims that they are from Ardoyne first and foremost. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, a young priest and gifted preacher Fr. Extreme heat intensifies across south-west US, Alcaraz ends Djokovic dominance to win Wimbledon, Iran's morality police to resume headscarf patrols, Jane Birkin: Artist and style icon's life in pictures, The Capitol rioters who regret saying sorry, How world-record mania has gripped Nigeria. Some Catholic parents complained that the new police tactics left them more exposed to the protesters. What follows here are my memories of a situation I, or no-one else who witnessed it, will ever forget. Baptisms: 2nd and the last Sunday of the Month 1pm. Some people get quite in your face about it. We went first to Battery Park, a residential area near the World Trade Center, where people unable to return home watched lorry after lorry carry away the rubble of their lives. Mary McAleese, who went from Ardoyne to the ras, and her husband Martin attended the Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate 150 years of Holy Cross. Fermanagh priest Fr. Gary Donegan reflects on the horrors of Holy Cross Meet Holy Cross | Congregation of Holy Cross Father Gary is now based in Tobar Mhuire retreat in Crossgar, Co Down but travels every day to the Passionist Peace and Reconciliation Office on the Antrim Road. The mother said that police had not given enough protection to her daughter and had failed to identify, arrest, or prosecute protesters who broke the law in full public view. In the morning, six loyalists, one with a gun, rampaged through the grounds of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic girls' secondary school, smashing 18 cars with crowbars. The mill workers were poorly paid and there was often high unemployment - an unfortunately recurring theme over the years. Life in the parish was especially hard in those early years. Holy Cross Church, Ardoyne - Wikipedia contact the editor here. Faith on the interface - The Irish Catholic In August 1971, for example, loyalists burned almost 200 houses in Velsheda Park, Farringdon Gardens and Cranbrook Gardens. The Holy Cross Mission Center brings the hope of Christ to communities in need around the world. Jerry Orbos, SVD - LIVE NOW: HOLY MASS 9:30AM | Sunday, July 09, 2023 at the Diocesan Shrine | Quezon City, Alleluia | Live Now | Online Holy Mass/ "the Pilgrim's Mass" - 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 09, 2023 - 9:30am. . In a pastoral letter issued on Sunday, he warned that dwindling numbers of young people joining the priesthood means it will grow increasingly difficult to meet demand in the coming years. Picture by Hugh Russell, "The priests at Holy Cross have always been very close to the people," said Fr Eugene. Ardoyne confrontation was like Holy Cross dispute, says priest "One Sunday at Mass I said ' I could turn round and say, how many sons have you given to church? I can't remember the last weekend I had that was time out," he said. They do this especially in preaching and in various ministries among the poor and the marginalised of every kind in whom they see the Crucified today. Police described the attack as "vicious". Ardoyne priest Fr Donegan stepping down after 15 years Everyone remembers the girls, some crying, being taken to school by parents with police shielding them from angry people shouting insults from the "other side". "What Bishop Donal is saying is true. Chris Donnelly: The Orange Order can learn from File an Phobail, Bella Blue Eyes can continue progress with Killarney win, Watch My Tracer should defy penalty to score at Windsor. He is still involved with the community of families he met during the Holy Cross period. Picture by Ann McManus. "In the last few weeks there has now been several nights when I've been the only passionist present on the site of Holy Cross, which is quite an amazing public statement.". Afterwards, there was a gathering in the recently refurbished Houben Centre, which acts as a pastoral centre and is the focus of many cross-community and peace and reconciliation projects. Gary has remained relatively silent on the dispute, he told this newspaper that he chose not to speak out at the 10 year anniversary, fearing it would inflame tensions. Reflecting on the period, Father Gary said: It was the nature of it, children had been kept out of it largely [The Troubles], they were sacrosanct. [1] . I could feel for that mother.". Bishop Donal McKeown is in charge of the Diocese of Derry and took on a second role in January as the Apostolic Administrator for Down and Connor. VideoThe top secret WW2 disaster that cost hundreds of US lives, Sport's strictest dress code finally relents. Senior Sinn Fin member Gerry Kelly said: "It's like something out of Alabama in the 1960s". The police moved to make an arrest but the person was protected by other residents. Where it really impinges is the reality of people who don't practice and expect exactly the same service as before when they haven't journeyed along. Wednesday 17 October: As children and parents were returning home from the school, a loyalist bomb exploded at the back of a house on Alliance Avenue. A retreat house and monastery - the first built in Ulster since the Reformation - followed in 1881 and by 1902 the splendid Church of the Holy Cross was completed. He spoke candidly to this newspaper about how the events of the Holy Cross dispute and other events during his time as a priest in Ardoyne impacted his mental health. No one was injured but the householder, and a number of parents and children, were described as being "in shock". John Friel CP (Rector);. Fr Gary. From the early days of Holy Cross, parishioners have been involved in the work of the Passionists in the parish. ", Me: "This morning, whatever the wrongs and rights here, a bomb went off close to the children going to school. The parish was born after Passionist priests Fr Raphael, Fr Alphonsus and Brother Luke arrived in August 1868. Another pipe bomb exploded in the garden of a house in the White City area. The following year, the BBC aired a documentary-drama about the protests. While on a visit to Northern Ireland, Archbishop. External links. "My big thing in life is going to gaelic football matches and I also had to cancel a recent holiday to France. The top secret WW2 disaster that cost hundreds of US lives. Asked why fewer young people were joining the church, he said the idea of giving up on having a family to be on call seven days a week with little pay was a hard sell. St Andrew - Holy Cross - Holy Cross Basildon - Church of England He also covered a funeral in west Belfast last week where no priest was available and will often call in favours so he can assist other struggling parishes. Use this WebWise link for a step by step guide to downloading Real-player. A pipe bomb was thrown, probably aimed at police, but the explosion was loud enough to send children into hysterics. A NORTH Belfast priest who was forced to conduct a funeral Mass in the car park of Holy Cross church in Ardoyne following a security alert has described the drama that unfolded . [29], .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}543712N 55808W / 54.62000N 5.96889W / 54.62000; -5.96889.