St Gobhan’s celebrates 200 years of history
On Sunday evening 22 June Seagoe parish held a special service to mark the 200th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the current St. Gobhan’s Church.
The parish traces its history back to the time of St. Gobhan in approximately 500 AD, and as such is one of the most ancient Christian sites in Ireland.
Several previous Churches were located across the road in Seagoe Cemetery, and the remains of the most recent predecessor to the current Church can still be seen there.
The Mayor, Counsellor Colin McCusker and his wife attended along with a number of other dignitaries and clergy from other denominations.
Following the service the Mayor presented the parish with the Craigavon Shield (right). This was a significant presentation as the current Mayor will be the last Mayor of Craigavon as the council will disband at the end of the current term.
The ‘Seagoe Bell’ (below) used to be rung during funeral processions in the parish. It dates from approx 900 AD and the original is currently in Dublin Museum.
The parish was delighted to have the loan of a copy of the bell from the Craigavon Museum, just one of many items from the parish archives which were on display to the public at the ‘Seagoe 200’ Exhibition.
L–R: Revd Raj Santhyaraj, Revd Canon Terence Cadden (rector), Counsellor Colin and Mrs McCusker, Bishop Harold Miller and Mr Philip Morrison