May 1919

Seagoe Parish Magazine.

MAY, 1919.

Confirmation.

The Lord Bishop has signified his intention of holding

A Confirmation in Seagoe Parish Church on Sunday

evening, July 6th, at 7 o'clock.

Candidates must not be under the age of 14.

Classes for Confirmation will be held as under—

Edenderry —Boys —Monday.

,, Girls—Thursday

Seagoe —Thursday. -

Hacknahay —Monday.

Drumgor —Wednesday.

Carne —Friday.

The classes will commence in the week beginning

May 18th. A punctual attendance at the classes will

be required. The classes will be held at 8 p.m.

A special class for adults will be held in Seagoe

School on Sundays at 4 p.m., beginning on Sunday,

May 25th.

Sermons on the subject of "Confirmation" will be

preached in the Parish Church on Sunday, May 4th,

at Morning and Evening Prayer.

As Confirmation is only administered in the Parish

once every three years it is most important that the

opportunity should not in any case be postponed.

Parents and Sponsors are urged to see that the young

people in their charge, who are of sufficient age,

should be presented for confirmation. Extract from

the Service of Public Baptism in the Book of

Common Prayer - “Ye are to take care that this

child be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by

him so soon as he can say the Creed, Lord's

Prayer, and the Ten Commandments in the vulgar

tongue, and be further instructed in the Church

Catechism set forth for that purpose."

Our Easter Services.

The Services on Easter Day were very bright.

The Church was decorated with Daffodils and other

Spring flowers. The Choir sang the Easter Anthem,

"Now is Christ risen from the dead." There were a

goodly number of Communicants. The splendid

weather added much to the joy of the Festival, and

reminded the worshippers of the "Sun of Righteousness

arisen with healing in his wings (rays)"

THE EASTER VESTRY.

The Easter Vestry was held in Seagoe School on

Thursday evening, April 24th, at 8 o'clock. The

Rector presided, and the minutes of the last Easter

Vestry were read by the Hon. Sec. Mr. W. R. Atkinson,

and confirmed. The Rector nominated as his

Churchwarden Mr. John Montgomery, of Levaghery,

and Mr. T. E. Maginnis was unanimously elected

People's Churchwarden.

The new Select Vestry was then elected by vote as

recorded below. We congratulate Mr. John Lavery

on his election to a place on the Vestry of which his

father was for many years a member. A vote of

condolence was passed to Mrs Reid and her family

on the death of Mr. Thomas R. Reid, who had been a

member of the Select Vestry at the time of his death.

Amid many expressions of regret Mr. W R. Atkinson

signified his intention of resigning the offices of

Hon. Sec. and Treasurer, which he has held for the past

19 years. The debt which Seagoe Parish owes to

Mr. Wolsey Atkinson for his unceasing efforts to

promote its welfare is immense, and we can never

sufficiently thank him for all he has done. He has given

time and interest unsparingly in the service of the Church,

and during the many years in which he held office he has

scarcely ever been absent from Vestry meeting. His example

should be an inspiration to all the parishioners in the

readiness with which he devoted his energies to further

the interests of the Church in this Parish. We are glad to

know that we shall still have the benefit of his counsel

as a member of the Vestry.

The following is a list of the new appointments made at

the Easter Vestry—

General Vestry—Easter, 1919.

Churchwardens.

Rector's—Mr. John Montgomery.

People's—Mr. T. E. Maginnis.

Select Vestry.

1. W. R. Atkinson

2. Lt.-Col. Blacker

3. Andrew Costello

4. J. G Gracey

5. John Lavery

6. Thomas Martin

7. Joseph Monro

8. D. W. Murray

9. Robert Price

10. James Sands

11. J. H. Stevenson

12. James Twinem

Sidesmen.

J. H. Stevenson, J. G. Gracey, D. W. Murray,

Gilbert Price, R. McClements. James Twinem,

W. J. Cox, W. J. Caddell.

IMPORTANT.

By a resolution of the Vestry it was decided that

owing to the difficulty of securing a bell-ringer now

that labour is so scarce, and wages so high, the

Church Bell will in future be rung before each Service

on Sundays for two periods of 5 minutes before each

Service. For Morning Prayer, it will be rung from

11 to 11-5, and from 11-20 to 11-25, stopping five

minutes before the service begins. For Evening

Prayer the bell will be rung from 6-30 to 6-35 and

from 6-50 to 6-55. At other times the bell will be

rung for ten minutes before the service.

THE CHURCHYARD.

Another resolution passed by the Vestry concerned

the core of grave plots in the ground around the church.

At present many of the graves are sadly neglected.

The resting places of our dead should be kept in a

way worthy of their sacredness. "God's Acre"

should be the best cared for and most jealously

guarded of all the land in the parish. With the

desire of accomplishing this object it has been

arranged that on payment of a sum of 5/- annually

the Sexton will keep the grave tidy, and paint the

ironwork when required. We hope that those who

have graves will avail themselves of this arrangement.

A receipt will be given for all sums paid.

Seagoe War Memorial.

The result of the penny collection in the Sunday

Schools for the War Memorial is as follows—

Hacknahay, 17s: Edenderry, 12s 2d; Carne, 10s 2d;

Seagoe, 5s 4d; Drumgor, 4s 1d; Levaghery, 1s 3d

—Tota1, £2 10s.

Dedication of Memorial.

On Saturday, May 10th, at 4 p.m., the Memorial

erected to the memory of the late Major T. J.

Atkinson, of Eden Villa, will be dedicated. A short

service will be held in the Parish Church, and any

who would like to attend will be welcomed. The

Memorial will consist of richly carved oak dwarf

screen at the Chancel Steps, and the replacement of the

present red sandstone steps by similar ones of Red

Cork Marble.

Seagoe School Weather Record.

Barometer—1 Highest reading of Barometer, 29.5

Inches on April 4th; 2 Lowest reading of Barometer,

28.2 inches on April 11^th. 1 Lily Sweeney,

2 Gertie Reid.

Thermometer—1 Highest reading (noon) April 30, 66c;

2 Lowest reading (noon) April l, 46c.

1 Ethel Hall, 2 Joe Hynes.

A War Record.

Seagoe Parish supplied several stalwart fighters to

the 5th Batt. R. Irish Fusiliers during the war,

among them Private Arthur Allen, of Florence

Court. He and every man of the Regiment has

recently received a very artistic and complete Booklet

containing a well written and most interesting

narrative of the work done by the Battalion in

Gallipoli, Serbia, Macedonia, Palestine and France.

A portrait of Lt.-Col. F. W. E. Johnston, D.S.O.,

who served with the Battalion during the war since

1914, forms an interesting Frontispiece. The name

of the compiler of the book is not given. A similar

record of the doings of the 9th Battalion would be

welcomed by many.

The School Concert.

The Seagoe School Concert in Edenderry Parochial

Hall was great success. The large hall was filled,

and the programme was excellent. The Rev. H. G.

de L. Singleton presided in the unavoidable absence

of the Rector. The following is a list of the various

items, all of which were much enjoyed by the

audience, and reflected great credit on Mr. Rennix,

the principal of the school, who was ably assisted by

Mrs. Rennix.

Opening Address —Edna Watson.

Pianoforte duet —Maisie and Jack McCready.

Song – “Railway Train," Infants.

Recitation – “Mother’s Right Hand," M. Coulter.

Song— “Physiology," Seniors.

Recitation – “Which one was kept," R. Watson.

Song—"Flowers," Junior Girls.

Duet – “I won't play in your yard," M. McCready

and M. Hynes.

Recitation—"Flo's Letter," Maggie Coulter.

Song—"The Dirty Boy," Seniors.

Sketch – “Little Madcaps," Four Girls.

"Ten Little Sunflowers," Junior Girls.

Dumb Bell Drill.

"The Cookery Girls," Senior Girls.

Recitation—"Don't," Hilda Walker.

Trio, - "Doctors Three” Three Boys.

Recitation – “On the doorstep," F. Best.

Duet—"Keys of Heaven," Boy and Girl.

“A Quiet Cup of Tea," Four Girls.

Song—"Tin Whistle Band," Boys.

Recitation – “Popping the Question," E. Watson.

Song – “The Three Dentists," Three Boys.

Andy and the Letter. The Market-song.

School Concert Account.

Receipts—To Sale of Tickets, £11; Money at door,

£l 2s; Total, £12 2s. Expenditure—By Tuning,

Repairing and Cartage of Piano, 16s; Printing, 10s 6d;

Music. Postage, and Paper, 8s; Use of Parochial Hall,

7s 6d; Balance in hands for Church Treasurer, £10;

Total £12 2s.

Nature Observers.

Quick eyes and ears are required in an observer of

nature. Seagoe Parish contains some such. Here are

the dates of the arrival so far of our old friends the

Corncrake, the Swallow and the Cuckoo. as observed

in the parish, with the names of those who first saw

or heard them.

Corncrake—16th April, Miss Rebecca Calvert, at

Breagh. An early observation of the Corncrake was

also made at, Kernan, on April 19th, by Thomas

Henry Hall, of Edenderry, pupil of Seagoe Day

School.

Cuckoo—-Heard for the first time by Miss Calvert

at Breagh, on April 22nd.

Swallow—Seen for the first time this year on April

25th by Mr. J. Maginnis, of Breagh. We congratulate

Mr. Maginnis very heartily on this observation. The

Swallow has this year been a month overdue, why,

it is hard to say. Very few have seen it as yet,

moreover Mr. Maginnis has from his earliest years

been deprived of the sense of hearing, but though he

cannot hear the song of the birds he gains pleasure

in seeing them and observing their movements.

PARISH REGISTER for APRIL, 1919.

Baptisms.

The following were baptized in Seagoe Parish

Church, on April 5th, 1919—

Hoy—Vera, daughter of Thomas James and Frances

Hoy, of Lylo.

Sponsors—Josephine Webb, Frances Hoy,

McMurray—Sophia, daughter of Joseph Edward

and Rebecca McMurray, of Lylo.

Sponsors—Martha Thompson, Rebecca McMurray.

Guy—Violet, daughter of David and Hannah Maria

Guy, of Upper Seagoe.

Sponsors—Sarah Clifford, Hannah Maria Guy.

White—James Henry, son of William John and

Julia White, of Annakerra, Drumcree.

Sponsors —Anne Reid, Julia White.

Guy—Rose Caroline, daughter of Samuel James and

Annabella Guy, of Derryvore.

Sponsors —Winifred Coulter, Annabella Guy.

Marriages.

Robb and McKerr—17th April, 1919, Isaac John Robb,

of Tarson, to Sarah Elizabeth McKerr, of Drumgor.

Serplus and McKee—22nd April, 1919, William Edward Serplus,

of Lurgan, late Corporal 9th Batt. R. Irish

Fusiliers, B.E.F., to Jane McKee, of Kernan.

A Letter from the Rhine.

[We have received the following interesting letter

from the Rev. Alfred Murray, who is working in a

Church Army Hut on the Rhine.]

C. A. RECREATION HUT,

BERG. GLADBACH,

GERMANY,

31st March, 1919,

DEAR CANON,

This is where I find myself landed now.

I came out here direct from England without having

to go through the usual period of training in the

home huts, the main reason I think being that they

are very short handed for men out here. Though

even for men sent to Germany my case seems to be an

exception. However, I have got fairly accustomed to

hut work already, and find it very interesting, though

sometimes hard work. I spent about ten days in

Cologne at the Head Quarters Canteen, before being

sent down here. There is just another C.A. worker

with myself in the Hut at Gladbach, but we have the

help of three orderlies, who do most of the work of

selling behind the counter, and cleaning up, &c. My

co-worker is an Englishman, very energetic and keen

and a good business man. When our overage take

for each day is between 6 and 6,000 marks it means

some work. We open each day from 10 to 12-30

am., and from 5 to 7-30 p.m., so that gives us the

afternoon to ourselves, and as there is a train

connection with Cologne we can go there as often as we

wish, of course free of charge. Some things are very

cheap in Germany, and some things are entirely

unobtainable. Such things as paper, cutlery, cameras,

are regarded as very cheap, reckoning that the mark

is only worth 4 ½ d. in English money. We have the

29th Division stationed in Gladbach, though it is now

called the Southern Division. We are not far from

the front lines, something like 12 or 15 kilometres.

We have a good number of the new army coming

and going here. When new batch comes out we

always know by the quantity of English money we

receive, and the difficulties we have getting change

in German money for them, but it is interesting to

watch the bewildered expression on their faces when

they try to reckon up their change. The troops are

all billeted out here. I see a good deal of the Padres

here, and I have just met a man whom I used to

know in Dublin, the Rev. J. Thom, who won the M.C.

with two bars, he is the senior chaplain stationed

here, and is responsible for the services. We have

had a service in our hut every Sunday evening. I

live on Army rations, and find them not too bad,

especially when I get used to them.

On the whole I feel I wouldn't have liked to have

missed the experience one gains out here, though the

life is bit different from what it is at home I hope

to drop you line later on, and let you know how I

am getting on. I feel in good form now, though I

have had a cold for the last couple of weeks. We

have had great deal of snow, and the weather has

been cold, but one soon gets used to all conditions of

climate. Hoping all are well.

I remain, yours sincerely,

A. J. MURRAY.

The Annual Report.

The Annual Report is now in the hands of the

parishioners, and we hope they will read it carefully,

and note its contents. It covers only 9 months, so as

to bring it up to the close of 1918. Some of the

usual accounts, such as Foreign Missions, which close

in the early months of the year, are therefore not

included. In future the Report will be for each 12

months, ending 31st December of each year, instead

of as formerly, from Easter to Easter. A glance at

the Sustentation Fund will show that many of the

Parishioners subscribe sums absurdly small, and

altogether unworthy of their object. We notice

several households whose weekly earnings are not less

than £8, and who give to God's Church a miserable

half-crown. With money at its present value this is

equal to about half its pre-war equivalent. As a

result of the smallness of the sums subscribed the

Glebe Purchase Scheme receives practically no help.

With very few exceptions our subscribers might

treble their subscriptions, and yet not reach what in

other Parishes is regarded as a normal gift to the

Sustentation Fund.

Choral Festival at Seagoe.

The Choral Festival of the Lurgan Choral Union

will be held (D.V.) in Seagoe, Church on Saturday,

May 31st, at 4 o'clock. Eight Choirs will take part

in the service. The preacher will be the Rev. Canon

Moeran, M.A., Rector of Portadown. The Rev. J.

Bentley, Rector of Jonesboro', and formerly a member

of Armagh Cathedral Choir will act as conductor.

ITEMS.

There is much regret expressed at the death of Mr.

Hussey, late Inspector R.I.C. in Portadown, His

death occurred very suddenly as he was passing

Levaghery Schoolhouse.

***

At the meeting of the General Vestry at Easter,

the members agreed to hold a Reception in Seagoe

School at an early date for the men of Seagoe Parish

who have returned from the Front.

***

The General Synod meets in Dublin on Tuesday,

May 13th, and continues during the week.

***

A number of pretty variegated shrubs have been

planted in Old Seagoe Graveyard, which are a great

improvement. We congratulate the Rural Council

on a step in the right direction.

Offertories—Good Friday, for Jews Society, 12s 5d

Easter Day, for Sunday Schools, £5 11s 5d. Mission

week, received during month — Miss Teenie Flannigan,

3s 6d; Miss A. Johnston, Bridge Street, collection

4s 2d; Miss Evelyn Webb, Lylo, 7s, bringing up the

full total to £9 16s 2d. The Carne collection acknowledged

last month was made by Miss M. Simpson.

***

The Rev. F. Cecil Long, Deputation Secretary for

the Bible Society, will preach on its behalf in Seagoe

Church on Sunday morning, May 18th.

***

A correspondent suggests that a corner of Seagoe

Church ground should be planted with Red and

White Roses to commemorate our Fallen Heroes. It

is a noble suggestion and worthy of attention. Our

correspondent also offers to help towards it by

subscription. We commend it to our readers. The

suggestion originally appeared in Seagoe Parish

Magazine for March.

OLD SEAGOE NOTES.

An Ancient Map of Seagoe Parish, 1609 — A

very interesting Map of Seagoe Parish, as it was 800

years ago, is to be seen in Dean Nowell's Maps of the

Escheated Counties, dated 1909, a copy of which,

magnificently re-produced in colours, is in the library

of T.C.D. A curious feature of the map is that the

North is at the bottom of the page instead of at the

top. The townlands are all marked and named. A

rough sketch of Seagoe Church is to be seen.

Carrick Blacker House had not then been built.

Trees are marked in several places. Perhaps some

day we may be able to reproduce the map in this

Magazine.

Archdeacon Saurin and his Feathered Friends

—The late Miss Gilpin, of Tamnificarbet, used to tell

an amusing story of Archdeacon Saurin. On one

occasion, some 70 years ago, when she was a child,

her mother had fine flock of young ducks. One

day the Archdeacon was driving in his Brougham

from Aghacommon School, and on passing her

cottage noticed the ducks. He stopped the carriage

to admire them, and then asked her if she would sell

them to him. She named the price, to which he

agreed, but a difficulty arose as to how they were to

be conveyed to the Rectory. However, the problem

was soon solved by the Archdeacon, who said—"Put

them in here." Mrs. Gilpin was very much amused

and gathering up the noisy ducks bustled them into

the carriage around the gaitered legs of the venerable

Archdeacon, who drove home in triumph with his

feathered friends.

Bright Street in 1879. — The following are the

Church of Ireland residents in Bright Street forty

years ago with the number of the house—1, Henry

Cochrane; 2, Jane Cochrane; 4, Isaac Marshall:

7, James Gibson; 8, Thomas Pentland; 9, John

M'Cullough; 10, John Wilson; 11, Eliza Trotter;

12, John M'Cullough, jun.; 13, James Gibson;

14, James Tate.

The Red Row 40 Years Ago. — The following

were the Church of Ireland residents in 1879 with

the number of the house —5, Ralph Heron; 6, James

Albamy; 8 Wm. Gray; 11, S. Rooney; 12, J. Woolsey;

13, John Deans; 15, John M'Loughlin.

Acreage of Seagoe Parish in 1750. — The

Parish of Seagoe in the year 1750 contained a total

acreage of 16,178 acres 0 roods and 4 perches. In

1765 10 Townlands containing 6302 acres 1 rood and

5 perches were cut off to form the Parish of Montiagh

or Ardmore. In 1850 8 more Townlands containing

1707 acres 0 roods and 4 perches were cut off to

form the Parish of Knocknamuckley, and in 1874 10

more Townlands containing 2703 acres 3 roods 12

perches were added to the Parish of Shankill, so that

now the Parish of Seagoe contains only 5465 acres

3 roods 23 perches, almost exactly one-third of its

original extent.