CASTLEDERG (Ardstraw West and Castlederg)

Catholic Population: 2,930

St Patrick’s Church, Castlederg.

St Patrick’s Church Castlederg has been restored to life after a lapse of nearly twenty years.

Following the deconsecration the old church was converted to a youth club in 1978. As a youth club it survived 20 years of the worst troubles in Northern Ireland. A succession of bombs, aimed at a neighbouring police station, devastated the surrounding area had severely damaged the old building.

Emergency repairs were carried out to the roof and windows but other problems that led to the abandonment of the church were initially left unattended. Wrongly bedded stones continued to deteriorate. Faulty gutters leaked into masonry and plaster, dry rot developed in the structural timbers, and a lack of ventilation under the floor caused floor joints to rot away.

Fortunately the traditional construction proved better able to withstand blast damage than more modern steel-framed buildings including the new church. A survey confirmed that St. Patrick’s could be satisfactorily restored.

The main contractor, McCann Brothers of Omagh, have now completed the reconstruction. The work has been helped by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. While the stone structure, including the spire, was basically sound, hundreds of individual stones needed to be replaced with matching stone from Scraghey quarry.

A new sacristy block and porch have been built at the west end to replace the sacristy on the street frontage. The new extension is faced in rock with dressed sandstone to match the original. The former sacristy houses a new reconciliation room and a small working sacristy.

Damaged slating has been stripped off. Decaying timbers have replaced and re-roofing has allowed insulation to be installed to approved standards. The roof has been completed on blue Penryn slates to match the original. Cast iron rainwater goods have been replaced in maintenance-free stove-enamelled cast aluminium.

Internally the timber floor has been removed and a new damp-proof course has been inserted in masonry walls. Insulated concrete floors have been laid finished in timber boarding as originally intended under fixed seating. Patterned encaustic tiling, styled in 1880’s models, has been laid in isles and porches.

A new gallery has been built to provide an additional 100 seats. The frontal of the original gallery has been re-used in the construction. Damaged plaster has been cut back and replaced. Areas of viable plaster, subject to condensation and mould growth, have been dry lined. A new low pressure hot water and heating system has been installed. Electrical systems have been replaced including a new sound system, with a deaf loop laid in the concrete floor slab.

The Convent of Mercy in Strabane has made available a wealth of stained glass together with a fine ‘Hogan’ altarpiece. The remainder of the sanctuary furnishing have been sourced from bits and pieces of marble salvaged from church ‘restorations’ throughout Ireland.

Externally, paved surfaces have been renewed in ‘antiqued’ concrete paving. A carpark has been built and with the help of the ‘Hearth’ Housing Association, a landscaped garden will provide a setting for weddings, Confirmation and First Communion Photographs.