Athenry News & Views Winter 2025

Athenry News & Views

The Board of First Fruits was established in 1711 by the Church of Ireland with the aim of building and repairing churches across the country. First Fruits refers to the first year’s revenue or profits from church collections. These were used for building works to churches and glebe houses. Churches built by the Board usually consisted of a plain gabled hall with a tower at the west end, for which the church at Monivea could be considered typical. Robert Ffrench received funds from the Board in 1762 to build a church in the village of Monivea given its sizable community of Protestant settlers. Work was completed by 1769 to the designs of Ben Johnston when the church was consecrated by the Archbishop of Tuam. Surviving drawings from the Representative Church Body Library show how the church would originally have looked, with details for window joinery, roof trusses and stone capping along with the floor plan showing the stalls and site layout. A vestry was added to the north of the nave sometime in the nineteenth century, by architect Joseph Welland. However by the early twentieth century the local Protestant population had dwindled, and the remaining members of the Ffrench family had converted to Catholicism. By the 1920s, the church had fallen out of use and by 1955 the nave roof had collapsed at the eastern end. The bells were removed and the stained glass lancets from the east window by William Wailes relocated to churches at Drumlane, Co Cavan and Dugort, Achill, Co Mayo. Several lightning strikes have damaged the tower, and the south eastern pinnacle and upper portion of the structure suffered significant damage. The churchyard has many interesting gravestones with the impressive vault of the Ffrench family set amongst mature yews. The grounds are maintained by local volunteers. In February 2023 with funding from the Heritage Council Monivea Heritage, association commissioned a conservation assessment of the site. This was completed by 7 L Architects andbelow is a short summary of the main points raised by them. The Current Situation The setting of the church, along with the village and green, is largely unchanged over the last century. While some remedial works have been completed to the belfry tower following lightning strikes, the condition of the ruins has prohibited access. This is a pity given its prominence in the village. The challenge of restoring or conserving MONIVEA CHURCH OF IRELAND

By David Holland

the building as a cultural or educational resource grows each year due to continued neglect. Vegetation encroachment can be the cause of gradual decay in the case of ivy, tree roots or lichen growth, but also a risk from sudden events sometimes following extreme weather, where a tree collapses and causes severe damage or more lightning strikes. Vegetation also obscures access and visibility of defects, making it difficult to determine the full extent of works programmes. While its gates remains closed and the vegetation untamed, the built heritage will continue to decay. The Future ? The Future – Conservation & Re-Use ENABLING WORKS – PHASE 1 In order to arrest the rate of decay to the historic fabric, and to provide a safe working environment for volunteers, an enabling works programme of emergency conservation works and clearance will be required. It is critical to secure the fabric of the building and prevent any further loss and decay of the existing structure and stonework. Following the clearance of vegetation, debris and fallen stones the next priority is to address the condition of the tower and pinnacles.