Mass House gets facelift

The parish’s old Mass House and later Mullaharlin School has been given a facelift.

Situated on the narrow, twisty end of the Chapel Road close to the link road of the motorway, the building fell into a bad state of repair in recent decades.

The work has evoked memories and interest in this historic single storey building on which there is a preservation order and that served the Haggardstown community as a school and as a hub of community activity as relatively recently as the 1970s since when it has lain idle and fallen into disrepair.

It was built in 1744 with a thatched roof and served as a Mass House “The Church of the Immaculate Conception” until the advent of Saint Fursey’s Church down the road.

The construction of Saint Fursey’s was completed in 1829, and Saint Oliver Plunkettt Church, Blackrock was not built until nearly a century later, the first Mass being celebrated on Christmas morning 1922 when it was not fully completed.

The Mass House was turned into a school and was officially registered with the National Board of Education in 1840, the date commemorated on a slate plate over the door.

The then new Saint Fursey’s School on Marlbog Road was built and opened in 1946, but Mullaharlin was pressed into service during the 1961/62 school year when an extension was built to the Marlbog Road building.

The road outside was the pupils playground at Mullaharlin, and the then principal Paddy McDonnell recalled in the parish history book by Noel Sharkey it was necessary to ‘poison generations of rats’ during the school’s stay there.

Conditions were unimaginable from what they are today, and Mr McDonnell said the return to the Marlbog Road ‘felt like working in luxury.’

Noel remembers as a former pupil that Mullaharlin was a vibrant part of the community, much like a community centre and in use until the mid to late 70s.

It was used for meetings by the local guild of the ICA and also the local branch of Macra na Feirme, and other uses included bingo session during Parish Week as well as five a side football.

The recent work carried out entailed the clearance of evergreen foliage at the rear of the building and removal of outbuildings, along with the repair of the roof, gutters, downpipes and door, with the interior cleaned. Secure fencing has also been erected.