St Mary's Chapel Melmount,
Melmount Road,
Strabane, Co. Tyrone BT82 9EF
Telephone : 028 7138
3777 (+44)
Fax : 028 7188 6469
Email : melparish@aol.com
Established in 1970.
Facilities available for those requiring
wheelchair access, and those who are hard
of hearing.
In 1970 the present St
Mary's church replaced the earlier and
much smaller church which was located
on the other side of the Melmount Road,
in the cemetery area. It wasn't just a
matter of change of location: the population
was increasing rapidly with the new housing
developments, and there was a change of
approach to church building, based on
a combination of architectural progress
and changes in the liturgy following Vatican
II.
A mixture of foresight
and providence has given the parish a
fine church building which has become
increasingly central, as the housing has
grown up around it and extended outwards
on the Sion side to include Five Acres,
Laurel Drive, Beldoo, Carlton Drive, Greeves
Park, Melmount Park and Brookvale. Part
of the foresight was the change of size
from the original plans for a church to
seat 800 to the present structure which
seats 1200 and has spacious aisles radiating
from the altar to join a wide processional
area at the back. The potential of the
modern engineering was exploited to provide
a huge roof span without the need for
interior pillars, so that there is an
uninterrupted view to and from the altar
and a strong visual expression of a community
at worship. The wooden beams in the ceiling,
filling the squares between the metal
beams, and running in alternate squares
at right angles, create a strong textured
effect, varying with a light falling from
two directions on the warm brown of the
wood, and avoiding the possibility of
monotony in a ceiling which covers such
a wide area. The wood blends beautifully
with the Tyrone brick of the walls. The
unplastered brick, in its varied natural
colours, gives a very attractive texture
to the walls both inside and out. The
building was given the Award of Merit
of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects
in 1971, a significant honour for the
architect, Mr Patrick Haughey.
The tabernacle, the baptismal
font, the ambo and chair, the wooden crucifix
and the brass lettering for the Stations
of the Cross are by Oisin Kelly.
In 1992 the sanctuary
was renewed with Richard Hurley as the
architect. The new altar, ambo and baptismal
font, all in a beautiful cream-coloured
stone, were carved by Tom Glendon. The
presidential chair, in oak, for the main
sanctuary was made by Strabane Training
Services as were the altar, ambo, chair
and furnishings for the Day Chapel.
The church looks at its
best on a big occasion like a Confirmation
or First Holy Communion day, when the
full sweep of the seats is filled with
all the colours of the brightly dressed
children, parents and friends. It provides
a beautiful setting for special liturgical
celebrations like Easter ceremonies. But
it is also a homely place, where people
can relax at the ordinary Sunday or weekday
Mass, or in the quiet atmosphere of prayer
during the day. |
| On a more symbolic level,
the parish website is a statement of identity
and belonging, of shared needs and common
interests for long-term residents and recent
arrivals alike. Whether you can trace your
Melmount roots back for generations, or
whether you have only recently settled here
(maybe from as far away as the Strabane
or Derry Road parishes!), this is your parish:
it is alive and growing, and it both needs
and welcomes your full participation. A
parish has its roots in the past, builds
in the present, but must also look to the
future. The bond of continuity, even in
terms of practical action, is the presence
of Christ among people of the parish. Fr
Anthony Mulvey wrote, at the time of the
opening of the Melmount Centre in 1985:
“Christ
is present in the simple, sincere, natural
goodness of people, holy and
happy.
The people in the parish are the Body
of Christ. They are all Christ’s,
the
people
of God, showing God to the world and to
one another”.
|
