'There in pinnacled protection One extinguished family waits A Church of Ireland resurrection By the broken, rusty gates Sheepswool, straw and droppings cover Graves of spinster, rake and lover Whose fantastic mausoleum Sings it's own seablown Te Deum In and out the slipping slates' from Sir John Betjeman, Ireland With Emily

The Church of Ireland is part of the world-wide Anglican Communion. It is a reformed and Catholic church - a church of word and sacrament. There are about 300,000 Anglicans in Northern Ireland (~18% of the population) and 90,000 in the Republic (~2% of the population). A brief overview of Church of Ireland belief and practice, is kept on the official CofI site.

If you know of any other Church of Ireland Parishes or organisations with websites, please e-mail me, Gerry Lynch, at u9556982@queens-belfast.ac.uk. Last update 24 March 2000.

Read here the commitment of one Church of Ireland diocese to reconciliation. This site has had  visitors since 12 December 1999. Page statistics before that are highly unreliable!
 

Diocese of Armagh

• The Church of St. Luran, Derrlyoran Parish, Cookstown.  The parish of Derryloran covers the sizeable market town of Cookstown, population 12,000, in the east of County Tyrone, near Lough Neagh.  This is another one of the better sites in the C of I.
• Creggan Union. This parish straddles the Irish border, with two parishes in County Louth and one in County Armagh. The parish contains the famous village of Crossmaglen, and Ballymascanlon, the site of historic meeting between Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant Church leaders in 1973 - an ecumenical milestone.
• Mullavilly Parish. Mullavilly is located just outside Richhill, in the heart of the County Armagh orchard country, between Portadown and Armagh City. The Parish has extensive plans for development and mission, and their website has been regularly updated for some time now.  NB - this is an updated URL.

Diocese of Cashel and Ossory

• Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford. Waterford Cathedral functions as the Parish Church for Waterford City, a thriving town in south east Ireland, 100km south east of Dublin.
• St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny. This page gives some notes on St Canice's Cathedral, in the beautiful medieval city of Kilkenny, in the fertile Nore Valley. If you ever get to Kilkenny, I recommend climbing the cathedral tower. You will feel ill doing so (it's a frightening experience), but worth it for the view from the top!  Note - this is an updated URL.

Diocese of Clogher

• The United Parishes of Garrison, Slavin and Belleek. These parishes cover the far west of County Fermanagh, a thinly populated area renowned for its stunningly beautiful lakes.  This site is regularly updated and has some very nice pictures too.

Diocese of Connor

• Agherton Parish Church (St. John the Baptist), Portstewart. Portstewart is a seaside town on the Atlantic Coast, about 100km north of Belfast and 50km east of Derry City. It is in the little slice of Co. Derry which is in the Diocese of Connor. As well as the holiday industry, it is well populated by pensioners who retire there from Belfast and Derry, and also has a large student population from the nearby University of Ulster Coleraine Campus.
• St. Andrew, Glencairn, Belfast. This parish is a local ecumenical project with the Methodist Church in Ireland. It is located in the Glencairn Estate in West Belfast, one of Northern Ireland's most socially deprived areas. It is about 4km West of Belfast City Centre.
• St. Patrick's, Jordanstown. This Parish is located about 9km north of Belfast City Centre in the prosperous suburb of Jordanstown. The Parish contains the University of Ulster campus at Jordanstown. This is a new comprehensive website for the Parish.
• St. Thomas', Belfast. This Parish Church is around 2km south of the City Centre, near Queen's University. The Parish contains many students, academics as well as much of Belfast's bed and breakfast accommodation. The web-pages are among the best in the Church of Ireland, although they can be a little slow to load.
• The United Parishes of Donegore and Templepatrick. Templepatrick is a rapidly growing commuter village, around 18km north-west of Belfast, in the rich farming country of the Sixmilewater valley. Donegore is a historic church building, busy raising money for restoration, visible from the main Belfast to Derry motorway. This is an all-new and information packed website.
• The Good Shepherd, Monkstown. This is a lively parish of the evangelical tradition in a working-class area, about 9km north of Belfast City Centre.  Note - this is a new URL.
• St. Colman's, Kilroot, Carrickfergus. St. Colman's is a parish with a central Anglican tradition in the east end of the town of Carrickfergus - with its famous Castle, and poem by Louis MacNiece - a rapidly growning commuter area 14km north of Belfast.

Diocese of Cork

• St. Mary's Church, Youghal.  Youghal is a market town in the east of County Cork, near the border with Waterford.  The site contains many photos of the current church restoration.
• Carrigrohane Union of Parishes.  This parochial union covers a number of dormitory towns to the north and west of Cork City.  At the minute much of the site is fairly sparse although it has been filling out.
• Mallow Union of Parishes.  Mallow is a large industrial centre in North Cork, and the parochial union serves a large rural hinterland.  The site contains a full listing of parish registers as well as pictures of the three churches and brief histories of the towns they are located in.
• St. Finbarre's Cathedral, Cork St Finbarre's is located in the centre of Cork City, and serves as the Parish Church for a large part of the City. St Finbarre's has a fine choral tradition and a beautiful building to boot.
• Fermoy Union. This is a thriving rural parish serving the farming communities of the Blackwater Valley in North Cork.  NB - this is a new URL.
• St. Anne's, Shandon, Cork City. This page contains brief notes on the Parish Church of St Ann, famous for it's bells (and the poem written about them) as part of an architectural tour of Cork.

Diocese of Derry and Raphoe

• The Mevagh Centre.  Is a retreat centre associated with the parish of Mevagh, Cashel and Clondehorkey.
• NEW ADDRESS - Vision - The Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Newsletter. A good glimpse of life inside the Church of Ireland.
• NEW ADDRESS - Fahan Union of Parishes. This pleasant website belongs to a parochial union on the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal. It is centred on the rapidly growing town of Buncrana, just 12km from Derry City (but on the other side of the border). Mrs C F Alexander, writer of hymns such as All Things Bright and Beautiful, and There is a Green Hill Far Away, lived here when her husband was rector in the mid nineteenth century. Incidentally the 'green hill without a city wall' of the hymn is allegedly the hill that the Creggan Housing Estate in Derry is now built on!

  Incidentally this is the first parish in Ireland to use the new parish.diocese.anglican.org naming convention for its URL

Diocese of Down and Dromore

• The Cathedral Church of Christ the Redeemer, Dromore.  This is effectively the Parish Church for the town of Dromore, a town of about 6,000 souls in the drumlin country of West Down, about 25km from Belfast.  The Parish has a distinctly Evangelical flavour and serves a long standing market town which is expanding rapidly as the Belfast commuter belt creeps ever outward.
• St. Moloua's, Stormont, Belfast. This Parish is located 6km east of the City Centre, in a socially mixed area. Those who know a little about Northern Ireland politics will also know that the Northern Ireland Assembly is in the vicinity! The extensive site gives a good overview of parish life.
• St Mark's, Dundela, Belfast. This Parish is famous because of it's connections with C S Lewis - he was baptised here, and his grandfather was rector in the 19th Century. The parish church is 4km east of the City Centre in a mainly middle-class area. Well worth a read - this site is well written and well designed.
• Holywood Parish Church, St Philip and St James'. This is the website St. Philip and St. James' Church, in the well-heeled suburb of Holywood, 7km north-east of Belfast City Centre. The Church has its roots in the 6th Century with associations with St. Laiserain. It's a very pretty Church too. I attended Evensong there once.  Note - this is the official parish site which replaces the one which I previously had linked from the local community network.

Diocese of Dublin

• CORE.  CORE stands for City Outreach through Renewal and Evangelism.  It is a charismatic Anglican Church based in inner-city Dublin and well known for its outreach work.
• Crinken Parish Church.  Cricken is located in the plush south Dublin suburbs, about 18 km to the south-east of Dublin City Centre.  Crinken is well known as the bastion of Southern Irish Evangelicalism and the site contains extensive details of parish activities.
• St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. St. Patrick's is the 'national' cathedral for the Church of Ireland - sort of an extra-diocesan thing.  The website is now fully completed.
• Christ Church Cathedral Dublin. Christ Church is the Diocesan Cathedral of Dublin and Glendalough, a beautiful Viking building with a fine musical tradition. It also has a jolly good set of web-pages. The Cathedral is right in the heart of Dublin, just overlooking the River Liffey.
• St Ann's and St. Stephen's, Dublin. St. Ann's and St. Stephen's are both historic churches located in Central Dublin, near Grafton Street, Dublin's premier shopping area.
• The United Parishes of Lucan and Leixlip. These parishes are located in Ireland's 'Computer Belt' in Dublin's Western Suburbs. Lucan is about 10km from Dublin City Centre, Leixlip 15km away. This is one of the fastest growing parishes in the Church of Ireland.  (NB - this site was last updated in March 1997!)
• The United Parishes of Sandford and Milltown. These Parishes are located in the leafy south-east suburbs of Dublin, about 10km from the City Centre. The Parishes have a range of active parochial organisations.
• St Patrick's, Dalkey. Brief historical notes on this ancient church is the super-wealthy suburb of Dalkey, 13km South East of Dublin.

Diocese of Kilmore

• St Feidhlim's Cathedral, Kilmore This is the seat of the Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh. This page contains brief historical notes and several pictures of this ancient cathedral.
• Calry Church, Sligo. A pretty picture of this church!  NB - this is an updated URL.

Diocese of Meath and Kildare

• Kells Union of Parishes. This Parish is located in the west of County Meath. Many of its Churches have a long and rich history, which are detailed in this site. It is a mainly agricultural parish.  NB - this site now has a new URL.
• St. Paul's, Portarlington. This Parish is located in a small market town County Laois in the Irish midlands. The Parish has an interesting history with an unusual 'French connection'!
• St. Brigid's Cathedral, Kildare. This is one of the two seats of the local bishop. It is also the Parish Church for the small county town of Kildare. This page contains some (poor quality) photos and historical and architectural notes on the cathedral.  NB - this is an updated URL.

Extra-Parochial Ministries in the Church of Ireland

• The Belfast Cathedrals Partnership.  Belfast's two Cathedrals - Roman Catholic St. Peter's and Church of Ireland St. Anne's - have joined together to facilitate reconciliation and promote Christian witness in the city.  This site gives details of their activities.
• Queen's Univeristy of Belfast Chaplaincy. This is the chaplaincy of the educational institution I currently attend. I have little contact with it because, first of all, I am a parishioner in a Parish a mile away in the City Centre, and, secondly, because they describe their worship as 'lively and informal'. Still, they have a lot going on, for people who are interested in that sort of thing, and the site is very well designed.  NB - this is an updated URL.
• Summer Madness. How does one describe Summer Madness? How about a hectic youth festival with contemporary worship in a forest in County Armagh. It's not quite my cup of tea (even though I'm in the target age group!), but lots of people seem to love it.
• The APCK Bookshop. This is the main liturgical resource centre for the Church of Ireland. Browse through their catalogue, and order a book or two as well if that takes your fancy.

Central Church Bodies

• Church of Ireland General Synod Board of Education (Northern Ireland). This board looks after the CofI's interest in education in Northern Ireland, as well as childrens ministry.

Pages maintained by Gerry Lynch. Click on the letter to mail me or visit my homepage or sign my guestbook. Page launched 24 November 1998.  Last updated 24 March 2000.

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