CHURCH TO SHUT DOWN
SHOCK AT PLAN TO END CITY CHURCH SERVICES AND DECONSECRATE OLD CHAPEL
CHURCH services at Nazareth House may be coming to an end and the church deconsecrated.
The news came to light in the HSE’s planning application for a major extension at Nazareth House which has been given the go-ahead by Sligo County Council.
A traffic report compiled by Consulting Engineers Roughan & O’Donovan says: “The church facilitates occasional funeral services. We believe that the medium term plan is for the church services to cease with the building to be deconsecrated.”
The lands are owned by the Sisters of Nazareth but leased by the HSE.
Regional CEO of the Sisters of Nazareth Mr John O’Mahoney told The Sligo Champion of his surprise at the plan to close the church.
“It’s news to me. The Sisters weren’t aware of that. It’s a surprise. They had no plan to close it down or de-consecrate it,” he said, adding that the Sisters would not want it closed.
The church is a popular choice for funeral services for people from the town and surrounding areas and would be missed.
The HSE was unavailable to comment at the time of going to press.
VULNERABLE elderly residents have been “very distressed” by youths climbing fences at night at the back of sheltered accommodation at Nazareth Village.
The youths have been climbing the fences to take a short cut from the Summerhill Roundabout to get to Maugheraboy.
Nazareth Housing Association (NHA) said in a letter to Sligo County Council “this has made our vulnerable elderly residents very distressed, particularly when it happens during darkness.”
New fencing and anti-climb paint have had to be installed to stop the youths.
Nazareth House Nursing Home General Manager Breda Casey also wrote to the Council.
She wrote that in recent months they have had to remove dustbins from the avenue next to the benches as “yet again the seating was used by young people congregating and leaving their litter and alcohol bottles behind for staff to collect on Monday mornings.”
The problem has also been causing concern among HSE staff internally.
Children’s Early Intervention Service Manager for Sligo, Leitrim and West Cavan Kate Ferguson wrote to HSE Estates Manager Shane Campbell raising “considerable concern.”
“There have been a number of incident involving antisocial behaviour on the campus grounds including serious criminal activity warranting the interventions of the Gardaí.”
The NHA’s anti-social behaviour concerns were included in letters to the County Council’s request for further information on the HSE’s extension plans.
Nazareth House stakeholders mistakenly thought the Council wanted them to put a playground into the site.
NHA Housing Officer Mr Daniel Horler told planners that he had “grave concerns regarding the appropriateness of a playground adjacent to an area that is popular with drinkers due to its vicinity to the town.”
He also pointed out that many residents came to Nazareth because they wanted to live somewhere secure and a proposed playground could “affect their security or even their perceived feeling of security that they cherish here.”
Breda Casey also said they had experienced anti-social behaviour on site so “another secluded area for young people to gather is not in line with what Nazareth House Management Limited wish.”
The HSE got their planning application approved for an extension to treat children with hearing and speech difficulties.
Early intervention and autism services will be provided at the centre also.
The County Council has approved plans to build a three-storey extension and car park at the nun’s premises on Church Hill.
The works will also include major internal refurbishment works over 5,000 sqm.
A new first floor will be installed in the rear hall.
Three staircases will be demolished and replaced.
A one-storey extension will be demolished in the back courtyard.
The South wing ground floor conservatory will also be knocked and replaced with a new smaller one.
All the existing features within the building will be retained, such as the decorative and ornate plasterwork and cornicing, original doors, panelling and joinery, existing radiators and any other original feature.
In the attic, the two former dormitories and central washroom area which remain intact from when the building was an orphanage will be conserved and protected.
A new car park for 248 cars will be built on the mature grounds, including 16 disabled parking spaces.
Landscaping works include the felling of 29 trees and the planting of 117 new trees, as well as new site signage.
The mature Beech trees to the front of the site on Chapel Hill not be cut down but a tree survey will be carried out to ascertain the condition of the trees.
Being a Healthcare Centre, it is likely that there will be a high population of visitors with accessibility needs, such as parents with buggies or local elderly people.
The plans were delayed last September due to site boundary issues. County Planners approved the application in early July.