December 1910

Seagoe Parish Magazine.

DECEMBER, 1910,

A Happy Christmas

WE wish all our readers at home and abroad

a very Happy Christmas and a Bright

New Year. The day on which we, as

Christian people, celebrate the Birth of our Lord

should be an occasion not merely of social rejoicing

but of spiritual thanksgiving and worship. This

year Christmas Day falls on Sunday, and we hope

to see Seagoe Parish Church filled with devout

worshippers.

Many of those who read these words will be far

away from the old Parish, but we trust that no

matter where they may be, in other parts of the

United Kingdom, or in the United States or in

Canada, they will not forget the duty of worshipping

God in His House of Prayer on Christmas Day,

and joining with His people in Holy Communion.

Advent.

The weeks preceding Christmas have always been

regarded as a special season for considering the

subject of the Second Coming of Christ.

In Seagoe Parish we have arranged for special

Preachers at our Wednesday evening Services, and

addresses will be given at the Sunday Services on

subjects appropriate to the season.

On Advent Sunday„ November 27th, the Rector

preached at Morning Prayer on the " Signs of the

Second Advent," and at Evening Prayer the Rev.

W. R. Crichton took as his subject " The Day of

Judgement."

Special Preachers—Wednesdays at 8.

November 30th (St. Andrew's Day)—Rev. J. I.

Peacocke, B.D., Rector of Bangor.

December 7th—Rev. G. Ingham, B.A., Curate of Lurgan.

December 14th—

December 21st—Rev. F. B. Aldwell, B.A., Curate

of Donacloney (Waringstown).

Christmas Day Services,

On Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25th, the

following Services will be held :—8 a.m., Holy

Communion; 11-30 a.m., Morning Prayer, Sermon

and Holy Communion ; 7 p.m., Evening Prayer and

Sermon. The special Christmas Anthem, Emmanuel,

will be sung by the Choir on Christmas Day.

On Sunday evening, December 18th (the Sunday

before Christmas), a selection of Christmas Carols

will be sung by the Choir.

The Collections at the Services on Christmas Day

will be in aid of Clothing for the Poor of the Parish.

Forward Temperance Mission,

The Church of Ireland Temperance Society is

organising Temperance Missions throughout Ireland.

The ten days, December 3-12, have been suggested

by the Bishop of this Diocese as a suitable date.

Seagoe begins its Mission on Saturday night, Dec.

3rd, by a great open-air Meeting at the Big Lamp

(end of Railway Street) at 8 0'clock. Addresses will

be given by leading Temperance Advocates. Mr W.

H. Wright, Chairman of the Town Council, has

kindly consented to take part. During the week

following, the subject of Temperance will be brought

before all our Bible Classes, and will also form the

subject of addresses in the Parish Church.

On Sunday, December 11th, the Rev. Maurice F.

Collis, B.D., Rector of Antrim, will preach in the

Parish Church on Temperance at Morning and

Evening Prayer.

Levaghery Sunday SchooL

We regret to announce that Miss Atkinson has

resigned the post of Superintendent of Levaghery

Sunday School, which she had held for the past

three years. Miss Atkinson worked indefatigably

for the success of the School, and by her efforts

greatly increased the efficiency of the School, and

also succeeded in placing it in a sound financial

condition. The children and teachers will miss her

very much.

We are glad to be able to announce that Mr Chas.

Collins, Rector's Churchwarden, has kindly under-

taken the task of Superintending the School, and we

are confident that it will flourish under his capable

management. Levaghery School, though not large,

comes next to Seagoe Sunday School in the date of

its foundation. It was opened so far back as the

year 1816, and was built out of the stones that

remained after the building of the present Seagoe

Church.

Seagoe National School.

Mr. Worsley, H.M. Inspector of Schools, paid

surprise visit to Seagoe School for the annual

Examination on Wednesday, November 23rd. By the

new regulations no immediate notice is given of the

day on which the Inspector is to visit the School,

and this adds to the importance of the visit as test

of efficiency.

Mr. Worsley subjected the pupils to very searching

examination in all branches of knowledge. He

also inspected the school premises carefully. The

result of the Examination was very creditable.

In every department the answering of the pupils was

very satisfactory. The Reading, Writing, and

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE.

Drawing were very highly commended. The

Inspector also expressed to the Manager (Rev. J. E.

Archer) his admiration of the fine discipline of the

School and the nice manners of the children. He

also expressed great satisfaction at the various

structural improvements made in the school buildings

since his previous visit. We congratulate the

Principal of the School (Mr S. R. Chambers) and

his assistants (Miss Bailey, Mr. M'Kittrick, and Miss

Irwin) on the success of the School.

Items.

A meeting of the Select Vestry will be held on

Monday, December 5th. Important business will be

discussed.

A new heating apparatus in the Church is greatly

needed. We hope our enterprising Vestry will take

the matter in hand without delay.

The Rev. W. T. Gray is on his way home from

Japan. He is returning via Port Arthur and Siberia.

He arrives home on December 8th. We hope shortly

to see him in Seagoe.

Seagoe Orange Hall is now open on three evenings

of the week as a Reading and Recreation Room for.

the young men of the District. This is a move in

the right direction.

A new Bible Class for men has been begun on

Tuesday evenings in the Orange Hall, Drumgor

Lane. It meets at 8 0'clock. The Gospel of St.

Mark is the subject of study. The young men of

the District are greatly interested in the Class.

New Stoves have been placed in Seagoe School

and in Drumgor Church Hall. They are a great

improvement.

Remember the Parochial Soiree, Thursday evening,

under 16 admitted.

We regret to hear of the serious illness of Mrs.

Atkinson, of Lower Seagoe one, of our oldest and

most respected Parishioners.

Mr. Thomas Wilson, of Duneglish, had the

misfortune to be run over by a Belfast motor when

crossing the Lurgan Road. He had a marvellous

escape from death. We are glad to hear that he is

recovering from his serious injuries.

Mr. Joshua Caddell, 34 Logie Street, Govan,

Glasgow, has become an annual subscriber to our

Magazine.

Have you got your Seagoe Almanac for 1911 yet ?

If not you should get it at once.

It is on sale at

Bridge Street Depot, also at Carne, Carbet, Drumgor,

and Hacknahay. Price 1d.

The Harvest Offerings this year were as follows

Seagoe Parish Church £13 5 1

Hacknahay 2 15 8

Carne 2 0 0

Tamnificarbet ... 1 7 1

Drumgor 2 6 0

----------------------

Total £22 3 10

Parochial Register.

Baptisms.

“I will make a covenant with thee."

Nov. 5th —Sarah Ellen, daughter of Leonard and Mary Anne Wilson.

„ —William, son of Thomas and Anne Jane Neill.

„ —Margaretta, daughter of James and Alice Jane Craig.

„ —Joseph Henry, son of Thomas and Letitia McNulty.

„ —Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur and Sarah Anne Allen.

„ 26^th —Terence Fitzroy, son of William Stewart Ward

and Eva Mary Lucy St. John Blacker.

Marriage,

“ They twain shall be one flesh."

Nov. 22nd —David McCabe, Ballynacor, to Jane Hughes, Tarson.

Burials.

" Till He come;"

Nov. 3rd —Mary C. Calvert, Ballymacrandle, aged 15 months,

23rd—Joseph Coulter, Ballynary, aged 6 mths.

28th—Alice Johnston, Levaghery, aged 56 yrs.

Offertories during November

" Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth."

Morning Evening

Nov. 6^th 24^th Sunday after Trinity £1 6 10 £0 8 7

Nov. 13^th 25^th Sunday after Trinity 1 5 1 0 8 6

Nov. 20^th S. next before Advent 3 16 8 0 14 6

Nov 27^th 1^st S in Advent 0 18 5 0 7 9

Weekdays 0 10 4

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Total £7 7 0 £2 9 8

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE.

Important.

The collection for the Sustentation Fund is now

being made throughout the Parish. The Rectory

Purchase Scheme comes into existence this year.

We hope, if possible, to double the amount formerly

collected.

Many have already greatly increased

their subscriptions, and we hope all will try to do

so. It would be a great help to the collectors if all

subscribers to the Fund would have their subscriptions

ready when the collectors call. The collectors

devote a great deal of time and attention to the work

of the Sustentation Fund, and we should all try to

make their task as easy and pleasant as possible.

Pupils' Concert.

A splendid Concert by the pupils of Seagoe School

was given in the Parochial Schools on Thursday,

November 24th. The chair was taken by the Rector

at 7-30. There wag a large attendance of the parents

and friends of the children. A most interesting

programme bad been arranged consisting of Action

Songs, Dialogues, Recitation, and Drill of various

kinds. Each item was very well executed, and

called forth loud applause. Even the tiniest children

seemed incapable of making a, mistake. The whole

proceedings reflected the greatest credit on Mr S. R.

Chambers, the Principal of the School, who worked

indefatigably to make the Concert a success. The

proceeds were devoted towards the expenses incurred

in painting and decorating the School. The intelligence

displayed by the children in their various

parts is a proof of the excellency of the educational

methods adopted in the School.

Parochial Soiree,

Thursday, December 15th, 1910.

On Thursday, December 15th, a Parochial Soiree

will be held in Seagoe Schools. Tea will be on the

tables at 7-30 p.m., and a Programme of Music and

Recitations, interspersed with speeches, will follow.

The price of the Tickets will be 9d each. No one

under 16 will be admitted. This social gathering

will be a good opportunity for mutual intercourse

between the various parts of this extensive Parish.

It is most important that the member; of the Church

should not merely worship together in the Church

on Sunday, but that from time to tine they should

try to realise the fraternal unity and social friendliness

which should always exist in every Christian

community.

Our Christmas Social gathering ought to accomplish

this. We anticipate a very pleasant reunion,

and we specially invite the heads of families

to be present on this occasion.

New Sunday School Calendar,

The new Calendar is now ready. It is nicely

printed, and contains the Catechism portions in full.

Teachers can get a Book of Notes for the Morning

Lessons from the Rector. The net published price

is 2/-, but it will be issued to the Teachers at 1/-.

The Afternoon Course is based on the Teachers'

notes in the Sunday School Magazine, which the

Teachers receive every month, price ld. Our

Teachers should read each month the most interesting

articles on Sunday School work published in that

Magazine.

The Infant Sunday Schools study the Creed, Lords

Prayer, and Ten Commandments, and also the leading

events in the Life of our Lord.

It is most important that the Teachers in our

Sunday Schools should study the Lessons carefully

beforehand, and also be present in their classes some

minutes before the hour at which the School begins.

Nothing is so prejudicial to the welfare of a Sunday

School as to see the Teachers arriving after the

opening Prayers have been said.

The new Church Attendance Stamp Album is

very pretty, and has greatly interested our young

people. The stamps are beautifully coloured and the

stamp represents the subject of the Gospel for each

Sunday. The stamp is only given when the child has

been present at Church at least twice during the

week.

Old Seagoe Notes-

The Cloch Bann. The Cloch Bann means the

Sacred Bell "

and it is the name traditionally

assigned to the Old Bell of Seagoe which is one of

the treasures of the collection of Irish Antiquities in

the National Museum in Kildare Stroet, Dublin.

The bell dates from about A.D. 916, and bears an

inscription in rude Irish characters. It is in good

preservation although cracked in two places. It was

apparently an old Tribal bell belonging to one of the

Tribes which roamed through Seagoe and its

neighbourhood in the long past days. In more

recent times it was rung in front of Funerals in

Seagoe graveyard. Sixty years ago it was purchased

by Archdeacon Saurin from the Hennon family in

whose custody it had been. He handed it over to

Dean Dawson, the then Dean of St. Patrick's

Dublin, and a great Antiquarian, who in his turn

consigned it to the care of' the Royal Irish Academy

in whose collection it now is.

The Rector has recently obtained permission from

the Council of the Academy to have the Bell

photographed, and we hope to have a reproduction

of the photograph on the new cover of this Magazine

for 1911. The people of Seagoe will thus have an

opportunity of geeing a print of this most interesting

local relic.

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE.

Seagoe to Dublin by Coach, 1706.—The single

fare from Seagoe to Dublin by Coach in the year

1706, that is 200 years ago, was 12/6. Of course

money was then worth much more than now. It

would be equal to about £l in our present money.

When the Bell in Seagoe Church got out of repair in

1706, the Vestry met together on Easter Tuesday,

March 26th of that year, and decided to send it up to

Dublin, and the fare paid by the man who brought

it up was 12/6 for each journey.

Townland Pews in Seagoe Church.—The

custom of allotting pews in the Parish Church to

certain townlands is of considerable antiquity and at

times gave rise to friction between Parishioners as is

evidenced by the following entries in the Register

for 1731

Whereas William Mathers, late of Drumgor, in Co.

of Ardmagh, has purchased one Seate in the Church

of Sego, standing in the frunt of the gallary, from

John Mathers, late of Killecomaine, for which Seat

the said William Mathers has an article from the sd.

John Mathers which is entered in the Vestry Book of

Sego by consent of the Minister, Churchwardens, and

Parishioners present.

These are therefore to certifie that I the said

William Mathers has sould and made over to Robert

Blacker, of Edenderry, one-third part of the sd. seat

to him and his heirs for ever in Lew of a sum of

money received by me from the said Robert Blacker,

As witness my hand this first day of May, 1731—

William Mothers.

[Immediately underneath the above is written the

following in a different hand] .

I protest against the entering the above as done by

Act of Vestry, the above-mentioned seat being

annexed to the freehold of Killecomaine.—Meredith

Workman.

[These entries throw an interesting light on the

way in which the Parish Church was regarded in the

past, and we hope in the present too. It represented

in itself all parts of the Parish, and each townland

and every individual in each townland had a share in

it, and a right to place in it. Meredith Workman

in 1731, upheld the rights of all the Parishioners

when he protested against the action of William

Mathers.]

Interesting List of Communicants.—On Sunday,

November 27th, 1709, the following Parishioners

partook of Holy Communion in the Old Church. It

is interesting to have the names—Mrs. Hanna

Blacker, Mrs. Judith Robinson, Margaret West, John

Gibson, ye elder, John Gibson, ye younger, Eliz.

Toulerton, Jane Medcalfe, Anthony Medcalfe, James

Domer, James Coal, Marg. Jones, Woollsey

Smurphett.

Conditional Baptism in Seagoe, 1716.—The

care with which the Sacraments and Rites of the

Church were administered in old days is evident from

the following entry in the Registers—

May the First, 1716. There was a child brought

to the Church which had been left at Widow

Brennan's house in Edenderry, concerning which it

could not be known, neither who were the parents

nor whether it had been baptized and therefore

Campbell proceeded according to the Rubrick saying,

If thou art not already baptized, Elizabeth, I baptize

thee, etc. George Rodgers, Churchwarden, was.

Godfather, Margaret Carvel, the Nurse, and Katherine

Deale, were Godmothers.

John Campbell.

[The above is in the handwriting of the Rev. Johm

Campbell at that time Vicar of Seagoe] .

Churchwardens of Seagoe (CONTINUED) :—

1727—Robert Blacker, of Edenderry,

John Berry, of Aughnehey.

1728—Mr. Edward Barton, of Drumgor,

Robert Wilson, of Levaghary.

1729—Leonard Cross, of Moreverty,

John Gibson, of Upper Seagoe.

1730—Thomas Bradshaw, of Knocknemnckley,

Thomas Woollsey, of Edenderry.

Two Letters.

The Rector has during the past month received

two letters which will be of general interest to the

readers of the Magazine.

Mr. John Mitten, of Gorteen, Co. Fermanagh,

writes to express his sincere gratitude to all in Seagoe

Parish who sympathised with him in the sad death

of his son Lawrence Mitten. He says, " It is a great.

contentment to me to know of the respect he had

gained in the Parish. I hope you will excuse this

trembling old hand. Eighty-six years of age. 1

must soon follow my dear son. Your kind letter and

sympathy has caused me some tears, also the piece in

the Magazine. It is a consolation to me that he was

so respected."

Another letter has been received from the Rev.

Manning Bennett, Rector of St. Mary's Church,

South Manchester, Connecticut, U.S.A. Mr. Manning

is the clergyman in charge of South Manchester to

which a large number of Seagoe people have emigrated.

They work in the extensive Silk Mills there.

Mr. Bennett is very anxious to get to know all the young

people, and has asked the Rector to let him know as

far as possible the names and addresses of those from

this Parish now residing at South Manchester. A

good many copies of this Magazine are mailed every

month to South Manchester, and we express the

earnest hope that Seagoe parishioners resident in South

Manchester will regularly attend St. Mary'

Episcopal Church, and help Mr. Bennett in ever

possible way. Mr. Bennett kindly enclosed photo-

graphs of St. Mary's Church and of the Silk Mills.