09.08.2021
Trowel used to lay foundation stone returns to Aughrim church
A little piece of history came back to the tiny St John’s Church in Aughrim on Sunday afternoon (August 8). The silver trowel which was used to lay the foundation stone of the beautiful church 109 years ago was presented to the parish during a special service which also marked the reopening of the church for public worship for the first time since the easing of restrictions. There will now be a service in St John’s on Sundays at 9am.
The foundation stone of St John the Evangelist Church in Aughrim was laid on May 7 1912 by the then Rector of Arklow, Canon Richard Hallowes. His great grandson, Michael Hallowes, along with his wife Janice, visited Aughrim to present the silver trowel used on the day. He found the trowel while clearing out his parents’ home in England and decided its rightful home was in Aughrim.
Michael told the congregation, which had gathered carefully in pods inside and outside the church, he and his wife had found the trowel under the bath in his parents’ home as they prepared to move house recently. It had been stored beneath a hatch in the floor for 40 years. “We feel it belongs here and we would like you to have it for posterity,” he said when presenting the trowel, which is still in its original case, to longstanding Aughrim parishioner Patricia Porter, on behalf of the parish.
Michael gave a brief history of his great grandfather who was born in Blackrock in Dublin. He had been training to become a lawyer and was articled to his father, also a lawyer, when he entered divinity training at the age of 28. He was deaconed in 1878. While Rector of Arklow he shot to fame due to his involvement in the Arklow Affair.
In April 1890 he and his curate, the Revd John Harrison, decided to preach their faith along Arklow’s Main Street. Apart from failing to consult his neighbouring Catholic parish at a time of growing antagonism, the move also blocked the Main Street and both combined to provoke considerable unrest which at its height required 100 RIC members and 100 soldiers to be drafted into Arklow to keep the peace. The Arklow Question was discussed in Dublin Castle and the Houses of Parliament in London. Eventually on March 5 1891 the pair were convicted of obstructing the public highway in the magistrates court and were sentenced to 14 days imprisonment having refused to pay the fine. On their release they continued to preach until the late 1890s.
Whatever the consequences of his actions, Michael, who is a retired Detective Chief Superintendent with the Metropolitan Police in London, reported that the parishioners of Arklow held Canon Hallowes in very high esteem and both he and his curate are buried in the grounds of St Saviour’s Church.
The Rector of Castlemacadam, Ballinatone and Aughrim, the Revd Suzanne Harris, gave thanks for all who had worshiped in St John’s Church over the last 108 years since it was consecrated. She thanked Michael and Janice for travelling from the UK to present the trowel and all in the parish who had made the service possible. She presented Michael with a painting of the church and information on its history.
