The above photo shows the church of St Finian's from a novel angle, i.e. the rear garden of the Glebe house next door. It was taken during a lovely day out on Sunday 13th July, organised by the group ReNewcastle and the Catholic and Church of Ireland parishes of Newcastle. 'An Hour in the Old Glebe' gave long-time residents of Saggart, Rathcoole and maybe even of Newcastle itself a golden opportunity to visit a house they had for years passed by without ever seeing inside. Thanks to the owner, Mr Frank Kerins, and his wife and family, that dream was finally realised and, as a consequence, everyone's appreciation of the history of Newcastle wonderfully enriched. Among a host of interesting facts learned was this: building on the extension to the Glebe took place in 1813, at the very time, then, of a major building project going on down the road on the new Catholic church.
And on that very subject, a major project is taking place in Saggart right now, the building of the new St Mary's National School. A glance up the lane by the parochial house (or rather 'road' now, it is so busy) tells the passer-by just how rapidly the new school is taking shape, due to open in early September. Not much of a summer holiday, then, for those hard-working builders! This photo from the school website (here, with many thanks to Maria, the photographer) will gives us an idea of the work in progress:
Finally, with apologies for the very late delivery, here are the Newsletters for June: 8, 15, 22 and the 29.
