Irish Times Notes26 Dec 20

Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’

Remembering the 1970s

The final Archive of the Month for 2020 from the RCB Library (www.ireland.anglican.org/library/archive)  is an examination of the 1970s through the lens of the Church of Ireland Gazette, in conjunction with the online release of all editions for that decade.

In contrast to the three previous presentations in the Library’s ‘Borderless Church’ series, which have been written by academic historians, the new 1970s presentation is the work of someone who was actively involved in the Church of Ireland. David Bird, a retired farmer from Cobh, Co. Cork,  who served on the Cork, Cloyne & Ross Diocesan Synod and several diocesan committees, and additionally represented the diocese on the General Synod. He was also a member of the Church’s Standing Committee and the Role of the Church Committee, the latter formed in 1969, to provide considered Church of Ireland viewpoints on the political, social and economic issues of the day.

As his text makes clear, there was a ‘darkening cloud was gathering over the island of Ireland’ – the intensifying ‘murder and mayhem’ characteristic of this phase of The Troubles.  Mr Bird writes: ‘Most of the bombings, shootings and murders occurred in the North … the pages of the Gazette are full of the events of this period’ . On 4 April 1970, the front page lead story appeared under the header: ‘Violence condemned by Church leaders’. On 20 August 1971, Fr. Mullen, a Catholic priest, was shot dead and in October a police constable was murdered.  1972 was a particularly bad year with Bloody Sunday in Derry, the Abercorn Restaurant bombing, and churches and church halls damaged.

In July, nine people were killed in Belfast including fourteen year old Stephen Parker, son of the Missions to Seamen Chaplain, the Revd Joe Parker. On 14 September 1973, the Gazette listed 875 dead and 10,000 injured. By 24 April 1979 the number had increased to 2,000 dead.

Yet, as the presentation also shows, green shoots of hope began to emerge with a growing desire for peace throughout the island such the ‘Prayers for Peace’ service in held in St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin, in February 1972, attended by 3,000 people, and public support for the ‘Witness for Peace’ movement sponsored by the Revd Joe Parker. Also covered was the Peace Walk in Dublin with 15,000 taking part while the Gazette itself launched a ‘Peace Think–in’ in 1975 inviting people to suggest how the Churches could promote peace in Ireland. 

Articles and letters published in the paper began to initiate ideas on how to bring peace. For example, in 1972 David Bleakley had set the scene by stating that Christians should spearhead reconciliation, while a letter from Senator Trevor West in 1973 contained what Mr Bird describes as “the germ of the conditions that would eventually bring peace to Ireland” – the importance of initiating and achieving North–South agreement on an administration, which proved to be a core part of the Sunningdale Agreement and subsequently the Good Friday Agreement alongside a cross–community Northern Ireland Executive.

Mr Bird’s forensic analysis has been made possible by searchable access to the digital files. The new presentation further emphasizes the value of the Library’s long–term project to digitize and make freely available the complete run of the Church of Ireland Gazette from 1856. This has been made possible with the support of the Irish Government’s Reconciliation Fund, administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

To search and view all the editions of the Gazette from 1856 up to 1979, go to: https://esearch.informa.ie/rcb