Cabra History.Com

I remember years ago at this time of the year when this church would be buzzing with people going in and out in preparation for Christmas. There was never a door closed, except maybe on the oul Confession Box. I remember seeing gangs of women from the parish cleaning and polishing it inside and out and I remember some of the men with great big ladders up there cleaning the windows on the inside. And there they’d be putting the Crib together and gently handling the statues with great reverence as if they were all back there in Bethlehem. And on Christmas Eve night at Midnight Mass (and it wasn’t at eight o’clock in the evening either) the place would be jam packed with people and all the oul fellas from the pub would even be there. Down on one knee they would go and some of them not able to get back up on their feet because of the drink. I always remember Mister Mac would turn the volume on the organ up full and he’d be blasting out the music all over the parish, it was pure magic to witness. And there’d be throngs of people going up to receive Holy Communion and then when they were all back in their seats everyone would start off coughing all over the place. I remember being allowed to go up onto the balcony one year for Midnight Mass. Everything and everyone looked so different from up there, all the women wearing their scarfs and all different colours. But the ten o’clock children’s Mass on Christmas morning was the icing on the cake for me, kneeling down at the altar rail with my hands joined in prayer and my tongue sticking out at the Priest, gazing in at the Baby Jesus in the crib who had His birthday on the same day as my older brother. I suppose like us all, the oul Church is getting on in age and probably wants to retire to some holiday home for retired churches. But there it was the other day still standing tall and proud for having served us all well in Cabra West and long may it continue to do so…