Tullylish begins 150th anniversary year
Bishop Harold launched a year of special events to mark the 150th anniversary of the completion of Tullylish Parish Church. He preached on the theme of celebration at an all–age morning service on 15 January. Parishioners enjoyed a soup lunch in the hall afterwards.
Tullylish has an interesting history. The foundation stone for All Saints’ Church was laid in 1861 during the incumbency of the Reverend W. B. Yeats who was the rector of the parish from 1836 to 1862. He was the grandfather of William Butler Yeats, the poet and dramatist.
The church prior to this was probably destroyed in the 1641 rebellion, but was rebuilt in 1698 on the same site. This church was abandoned as it was too small to contain the influx of people from the 1859 revival and the current church built in 1861.
The baptistry was extended and renovated in 1981. The parish once occupied an area much larger than today; it lost 2 townlands to Knocknamuckley in 1839 and the parish of Gilford was separated in 1867.
Pictured left to right: Mr William Robinson, Rector’s Church Warden, Rev. Arthur Young, Bishop Harold Miller and Mr John Walker, People’s Church Warden.