Drumcree Church
Encyclopedia
Drumcree Parish Church, officially The Church of the Ascension, is the parish church
of Drumcree Church of Ireland
parish. The church is within the townland
of Drumcree, roughly 1.5 miles (2.3 km) to the northeast of Portadown
, County Armagh
.
In recent times it has become noted for the Orange Order
service held annually on the Sunday before 12 July. The service, or more precisely the Orangemen's parade both to and from the service and the reaction of the community on Garvaghy Road, has been the catalyst for sectarian unrest between the Protestant paraders and the Catholic
residents of the area for more than 200 years.
The present church was consecrated by the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore
, Robert Bent Knox
, on 28 October 1856. Its foundation stone was laid on 17 May 1855, which in that year was Ascension Day.
The current rector is the Reverend Gary Galway, previous curate of St. Marks Parish in Portadown.
The Church of Ireland parish of Drumcree has borders identical to the Roman Catholic parish of Drumcree.
: Droim Crí) is the name of the townland
in which the church and the surrounding area are located. Its name means "ridge of the boundary", most likely referring to the River Bann
. The site has been used for Christian
worship since the time of the Celts. The parish of Drumcree was formed in 1110 comprising sixty-six townlands lying to the west of the Bann. Historical records list the first vicar as David Macralagen. He died in 1414. The parish remained a Catholic entity until the Reformation
in the mid 16th century.
It is unclear what happened to the church during the time of the Reformation, but a map of 1609 shows the church in ruins within the churchyard. Following the Ulster Plantation
in 1610 a new church was built. This was described as "a plain stone building rough cast and whitewashed".
In 1812 a tower was built and in 1814 a church bell was installed. In 1826 the rector, Charles Alexander, had a new rectory built. Almost thirty years later, in 1854, it was decided to build a new church. The church so built is the one that stands today and is now the oldest church in Portadown. It occupies a position roughly the same as the former church.
In 1901 a new burial ground was established on the north side of the church. In the following year the Parochial Hall was built. A pipe organ
was installed in the church in 1907 and a memorial to the Great War
was built in 1921. A further burial ground known as the Terrace Burial Ground was created on the east side of the church in 1922.
In 1989 a war memorial to commemorate those lost in World War II
was erected. Then in 1992 major renovation work was carried out to repair the fabric of the building.
Plowden tells of a similar assault on Catholics in Lurgan where influential Catholics and Protestants living east of the river Bann convened a meeting and succeeded in maintaining the peace in that area. But in Portadown the Catholic Defenders: "remained under arms for three days successively, challenging their opponents to fight it out fairly in the field rather that harass them with murderous nocturnal visits".
Seven weeks later, on 21 September a party of Defenders was routed by a smaller but better armed coalition of 'wreckers' at the Diamond, 4 miles from Drumcree. The 'wreckers' were under the command of a Captain Giffard from Dublin. William Blacker, a member of the landed gentry and commander of the Seagoe Yeomanry, was later attributed a role in the affray. He is said to have stripped lead from the roof of his house to make ammunition in preparation for the ambush of Catholic Defenders at the Diamond. However, we could find nothing to support this and it may be no more than a piece of Orange legend that helped establish an affinity with the aristocracy in the minds of the Protestant peasantry. It was after the Diamond skirmish that the name 'Orange Boys' was adopted. This was changed to 'the Orange Order' as the ‘wreckers’ became more organized under the leadership of Blacker and James Verner, an attorney and agent for the Armagh estates of absentee landlord, Lord Charlemont.http://www.scribd.com/doc/26105917/Two-Hundred-Years-in-the-Citadel
Traditionally the Orangemen parade from the centre of Portadown, returning after the church service. The service and accompanying parades are now often represented by Orangemen as being held to commemorate the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who died during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. All such claims should be seen in light of the long history of violent Orange parading to Drumcree and in general.
Portadown is a predominantly Protestant town. The small area surrounding the Garvaghy Road is a small Catholic community within Portadown. That community has long been subjected to sectarian discrimination, marginalization, and abuse ( The Orange Order insist it is their right as citizens to march down the Garvaghy Road, a route they claim to hold traditional and communal value. The residents of Garvaghy Road insist it is their right not to be subjected to marches perceived by many as sectarian and intimidating. The stand-off between the Orangemen and the RUC Royal Ulster Constabulary
, which previously colludded in facilitating the Orange demonstrations of strength, has become symbolic of the intractable sectarian divide that poisons relations between the two communities in Northern Ireland. And a local anthropologist, Peter Mulholland, has argued that Orange parades effectively deny the human rights and dignity of the minority community through annually reviving and fanning the flames of sectarian hatred
The aforementioned Plowden report and many other instances of Orange parade-related violence during the two centuries since 1795 were documented by a small group of Portadown Nationalists in the early 1980s and circulated to journalists in 1996-7 under the title 'Two Hundred Years in the Orange Citadel'. Their research was also included in Nationalist submissions to the British government's 'North' commission of inquiry into sectarian parades.
In 1998 the Northern Ireland Parades Commission
banned the Orangeman's parade. Every year since then the parade has been prevented from parading down the Garvaghy Road. In an attempt to defuse the situation the General Synod of the Church of Ireland has requested the Reverend John Pickering, Rector of Drumcree Church, to refrain from holding the Orangemen's service. The Primate of the Church of Ireland, Dr. Robin Eames
, stated that "It is a form of blasphemy
if, following a religious service, those who have attended it engage in behaviour which makes a mockery of such a service." Pickering has, however, refused the request, maintaining that "the doors of my church are open to anyone, including Orangemen".
In 2007, following the Northern Ireland
power sharing agreement, the Orange Order parade passed peacefully. The Order is still blocked from marching down the Garvaghy Road
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of Drumcree Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
parish. The church is within the townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
of Drumcree, roughly 1.5 miles (2.3 km) to the northeast of Portadown
Portadown
Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
, County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
.
In recent times it has become noted for the Orange Order
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
service held annually on the Sunday before 12 July. The service, or more precisely the Orangemen's parade both to and from the service and the reaction of the community on Garvaghy Road, has been the catalyst for sectarian unrest between the Protestant paraders and the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
residents of the area for more than 200 years.
The present church was consecrated by the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore
Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore
The Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore; comprising all County Down and County Antrim, including the city of Belfast.-History:...
, Robert Bent Knox
Robert Bent Knox
Robert Bent Knox DD LLD was the Church of Ireland Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore from 1849 to 1886, and then Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 1886 until his death.-Early life:...
, on 28 October 1856. Its foundation stone was laid on 17 May 1855, which in that year was Ascension Day.
The current rector is the Reverend Gary Galway, previous curate of St. Marks Parish in Portadown.
The Church of Ireland parish of Drumcree has borders identical to the Roman Catholic parish of Drumcree.
History of the site
Drumcree (Irish languageIrish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
: Droim Crí) is the name of the townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
in which the church and the surrounding area are located. Its name means "ridge of the boundary", most likely referring to the River Bann
River Bann
The River Bann is the longest river in Northern Ireland, the total length being 80 miles . The river winds its way from the south east corner of Northern Ireland to the north west coast, pausing in the middle to widen into the enormous Lough Neagh...
. The site has been used for Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
worship since the time of the Celts. The parish of Drumcree was formed in 1110 comprising sixty-six townlands lying to the west of the Bann. Historical records list the first vicar as David Macralagen. He died in 1414. The parish remained a Catholic entity until the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in the mid 16th century.
It is unclear what happened to the church during the time of the Reformation, but a map of 1609 shows the church in ruins within the churchyard. Following the Ulster Plantation
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...
in 1610 a new church was built. This was described as "a plain stone building rough cast and whitewashed".
In 1812 a tower was built and in 1814 a church bell was installed. In 1826 the rector, Charles Alexander, had a new rectory built. Almost thirty years later, in 1854, it was decided to build a new church. The church so built is the one that stands today and is now the oldest church in Portadown. It occupies a position roughly the same as the former church.
History of the present church
The Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1871 and as a result Drumcree lost most of its land, known as the Glebe Land.In 1901 a new burial ground was established on the north side of the church. In the following year the Parochial Hall was built. A pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
was installed in the church in 1907 and a memorial to the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was built in 1921. A further burial ground known as the Terrace Burial Ground was created on the east side of the church in 1922.
In 1989 a war memorial to commemorate those lost in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was erected. Then in 1992 major renovation work was carried out to repair the fabric of the building.
Drumcree and the Orange Order
The Orange Order was founded in and around the Co. Armagh town of Portadown in 1795. The first Orange service and 'church parade' from Drumcree was on 1 July 1795. That parade was instigated by Protestant ministers in the Portadown area. One of them, a Reverend George Maunsell gave a sermon in June 1795. Maunsell called on his congregation: " to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in the true spirit of the institution" by attending a sermon to be given by a Rev. Devine of the Established Church at Drumcree on Sunday 1 July. And that 1st first Sunday church parade, like so many since, was celebrated with 'wrecking' and bloodletting in the parish of Drumcree. On page 17 of his "History of Ireland" (Vol. I), published in 1809, the historian Francis Plowden described the events that followed the Rev Devine's sermon:
This evangelical laborer in the vineyard of the Lord of peace so worked up the minds of his audience, that upon retiring from service, on the different roads leading to their respective homes, they gave full scope to the antipapistical zeal, with which he had inspired them, falling upon every Catholic they met, beating and bruising them without provocation or distinction, breaking the doors and windows of their houses, and actually murdering two unoffending Catholics in a bog. This unprovoked atrocity of the Protestants revived and redoubled religious rancour. The flame spread and threatened a contest of extermination...
Plowden tells of a similar assault on Catholics in Lurgan where influential Catholics and Protestants living east of the river Bann convened a meeting and succeeded in maintaining the peace in that area. But in Portadown the Catholic Defenders: "remained under arms for three days successively, challenging their opponents to fight it out fairly in the field rather that harass them with murderous nocturnal visits".
Seven weeks later, on 21 September a party of Defenders was routed by a smaller but better armed coalition of 'wreckers' at the Diamond, 4 miles from Drumcree. The 'wreckers' were under the command of a Captain Giffard from Dublin. William Blacker, a member of the landed gentry and commander of the Seagoe Yeomanry, was later attributed a role in the affray. He is said to have stripped lead from the roof of his house to make ammunition in preparation for the ambush of Catholic Defenders at the Diamond. However, we could find nothing to support this and it may be no more than a piece of Orange legend that helped establish an affinity with the aristocracy in the minds of the Protestant peasantry. It was after the Diamond skirmish that the name 'Orange Boys' was adopted. This was changed to 'the Orange Order' as the ‘wreckers’ became more organized under the leadership of Blacker and James Verner, an attorney and agent for the Armagh estates of absentee landlord, Lord Charlemont.http://www.scribd.com/doc/26105917/Two-Hundred-Years-in-the-Citadel
Traditionally the Orangemen parade from the centre of Portadown, returning after the church service. The service and accompanying parades are now often represented by Orangemen as being held to commemorate the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who died during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. All such claims should be seen in light of the long history of violent Orange parading to Drumcree and in general.
Portadown is a predominantly Protestant town. The small area surrounding the Garvaghy Road is a small Catholic community within Portadown. That community has long been subjected to sectarian discrimination, marginalization, and abuse ( The Orange Order insist it is their right as citizens to march down the Garvaghy Road, a route they claim to hold traditional and communal value. The residents of Garvaghy Road insist it is their right not to be subjected to marches perceived by many as sectarian and intimidating. The stand-off between the Orangemen and the RUC Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
, which previously colludded in facilitating the Orange demonstrations of strength, has become symbolic of the intractable sectarian divide that poisons relations between the two communities in Northern Ireland. And a local anthropologist, Peter Mulholland, has argued that Orange parades effectively deny the human rights and dignity of the minority community through annually reviving and fanning the flames of sectarian hatred
The aforementioned Plowden report and many other instances of Orange parade-related violence during the two centuries since 1795 were documented by a small group of Portadown Nationalists in the early 1980s and circulated to journalists in 1996-7 under the title 'Two Hundred Years in the Orange Citadel'. Their research was also included in Nationalist submissions to the British government's 'North' commission of inquiry into sectarian parades.
In 1998 the Northern Ireland Parades Commission
Parades Commission
The Parades Commission is a quasi-judicial non-departmental public body responsible for placing restrictions on or banning outright any parades in Northern Ireland it deems contentious or offensive. It is composed of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern...
banned the Orangeman's parade. Every year since then the parade has been prevented from parading down the Garvaghy Road. In an attempt to defuse the situation the General Synod of the Church of Ireland has requested the Reverend John Pickering, Rector of Drumcree Church, to refrain from holding the Orangemen's service. The Primate of the Church of Ireland, Dr. Robin Eames
Robin Eames
Robin Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames OM was the Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006.-Education:...
, stated that "It is a form of blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
if, following a religious service, those who have attended it engage in behaviour which makes a mockery of such a service." Pickering has, however, refused the request, maintaining that "the doors of my church are open to anyone, including Orangemen".
In 2007, following the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
power sharing agreement, the Orange Order parade passed peacefully. The Order is still blocked from marching down the Garvaghy Road