A rain-soaked night of almost biblical proportions could not dampen the spirits of revellers at St. Mary’s Church’s annual barbecue. The Haddington Road church’s BBQ took place on July 10th in the Lansdowne Hotel on Baggot Street.
Local punters braved the torrential conditions to enjoy an evening of quality food and entertainment featuring live music, an auction and a raffle.
The barbecue has been running for several years now and is an entirely community-based enterprise irrespective of the Christian faith of the church itself. St Mary’s parish is a district encompassing around 3,000 homes and the primary goal of the barbecue is to bring people from the surrounding areas together.
Meagher’s Pharmacy of Baggot Street were the chief sponsors of the event and were responsible for ticket sales.
Reverend Michael Collins, curate of St Mary’s, spoke to NewsFour about the barbecue and its place within a wider community outreach strategy, which is largely aimed at many of the more elderly members of the local area.
“There are two aims here: one is to get the community together, as well as to create a trickle down effect,” Reverend Collins states. “Secondly, it brings in funds, which can be used throughout the year. We have something called the St. Mary’s Friendship Club, which is principally for elderly people so they can come up every fortnight on a Monday afternoon. We have a set of activities whuch elderly people can come to; poetry, music, exercises and the like.”
The church has a strong relationship with the Lansdowne Hotel, who provided the space for the BBQ free of charge. Reverend Collins said that in spite of the scare provided by the weather, the evening itself had been a success.
“They’ll go home and talk about it tomorrow and they’ll have a great evening. The barbecue is very reasonable, its 20 quid with a lovely meal. Kids come free and people are very happy to support.”
St Mary’s Church was built in 1836 and celebrates its anniversary in November. Reverend Collins states that there is a great sense of loyalty in the area to St Mary’s, and he is thankful to all church volunteers, from Meagher’s Pharmacy to the schools in the parish, for their efforts, including the barbecue and throughout the year.
By Craig Kinsella
