Book produced to mark St Anne's Church bicentenary celebration in Waterford
The book was written to mark the bicentenary of St Anne's Church
A very special celebration will take place in Count Waterford this coming weekend when St Anne's Church in Ballylaneen, near Stradbally, celebrates its bicentenary.
The commemorative celebrations will take place from July 26 to 28, and will include Masses and a family fun day. To mark the prestigious event a special commemorative, hard-back book was also written and copies of that will also be available at the weekend.
St Anne's Church serves people in Stradbally, Ballylaneen and Faha, and the souvenir book, which was meticulously researched, details the history of the church back to the time of its construction in 1824.
The book also details the various parish priests who served in the church throughout its history, many of whom undertook other building and renovation works throughout the parish.
There is interesting sections that deals with the forerunners to St Anne's Church in the Ballylaneen, in terms of places of worship along with details relating to the three local graveyards.
The stained glass windows in the church were created by studios in Youghal and Dublin and there is also a section that deals with Irish liberator, Daniel O'Connell's visit to the church in July 1830, while canvassing. The visit formed part of a trip he made initially, from Kill to Ballylaneen, and ultimately on to Dungarvan.
From a local perspective there is a lot of interesting information in the book relating to families from the vicinity who, as the authors note 'contributed to the church's rich architectural heritage' by sponsoring stained glass windows, stations, the altar, the bell and the belfry.
Many of those families still have members living in the locality. The book also contains images from the 150th anniversary celebrations in 1974 in addition to photos of parishioners dating back over the years.
The book will be available for a minimum donation of €12 (cash only) and proceeds from its sale will go towards the church renovation works.
