S Brigid’s

1

St Brigid’sNEWMAINS

1871 2011140years

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A Parish consists of the people of God in their community. Ve story of a parish is the storyof that community. Vis story deals with the people themselves, working and making

sacriRces in their everyday lives, grasping the knowledge that only God’s love can bringmeaning to lives which were often brutally hard.

Ve story will touch upon the priests who led the people. It will tell of the buildings andother objects which were lovingly constructed by the people and it will describe the civil

community in which they lived and earned their living “by the sweat of their brow”.

It will, above all, show the continuity of the people. It will show that the impulse to live asGod’s people, which drove the founders, remains alive and thriving a century later. Vewish to celebrate the achievements of our forebears is evidence for that but a stronger

indication is the willingness to participate in the life of our community today as we reachthe end of the Rrst Chapter of the story of St. Brigid’s.

ST BRIGID’S140 YEARS1871 - 2011

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Right Rev. Joseph Devine

Bishop of Motherwell

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New Letter to follow

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Parish Priest - Rev Hugh Kelly

PIC to follow

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New Letter to follow

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St Brigid’s ChurchNewmains

(Scottish Charities Reg. No. 011041)5 Westwood Road, Newmains, Wishaw, North Lanarkshire ML2 9DA

Tel. 01698 297037 Fax. 01698 297038 E-Mail. [email protected]

Fr. Hugh P. Kelly PP

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Our Pastoral Assistant, Sister Maria Goretti who joined St. Brigid’s in the Centenary Yearwas born in Govan. She was educated at St. Constantine’s School, Govan and later at

Lourdes Secondary.

After completing her education she worked for a time at a city builders-merchants as areceptionist. But she was aware that this was not her Rnal calling in life and in 1966 sheentered the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Merrylee Convent. Her

Rnal vows were taken in 1973 in St. Constantine’s Church in Govan.

While a member of the order she completed a year-long period of spiritual training andafterwards took full training in nursing and as a nursery-nurse. She was extensivelyinvolved in caring work, both for the elderly and with the Society of the Innocents. She also worked as a Pastoral Assistant in St. John Ogilvie’s Parish in Blantyre for

around Rve years.

She currently lives in Innocents House, Motherwell.

Sister Maria Goretti

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Hymn to St. Brigid

Far above enthroned in glorysweetest Saint of our dear isle.

See thy children kneel before thee,turn on us a mother’s smile.

Sancta Mater hear our pleading,faith and hope and holy love.

Dear St. Brigid, spouse of Jesus sent to us from heaven above.

Dear St. Brigid, we thy children far and near o’er land and sea

mid the world and in the cloisterfondly turn with love to thee. SanctaMater soothe the mourner shield the

weary tempted soul. Sweet St.Brigid guide thy children to their

bright and happy home.

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SAINTS AND SCHOLARS

Across the centuries, many saints apart from Nethanhave been given particular attention and reverence inthis area.

Ve name of our postal town, Wishaw, most probablyderives from a gradual shortening of the nameWinstie’s Haugh. Vose who remember the pitch andtoss school which used to meet near Newmains willknow that a Haugh is a forest glade. Winstie is anaQectionate shortening of the name Winfrid.(Another name for Boniface - patron Saint ofGermany - although St. Winifred, a Welsh Saint wasalso widely known and revered) Winstie’s name liveson also in Swinstie Road and Swinstie farm in nearbyCleland.

Winfrid’s best known legacy is his dedication of theFir tree as a Christian symbol, replacing the paganoak and giving us the basis for the use of Christmastrees.

A Celtic Saint, Aidan of Lindisfarne, was chosen asthe patron of the parish Church in the Parish of

Cambusnethan. Another early chapel was named forMichael, Archangel and victor over the powers ofdarkness. Ve Abbot Brendan, voyager and possiblevisitor to the American continent 1000 years beforeChristopher Columbus, was well known amongthem but had to await the 20th Century before hisname was included among local patrons.

Ve Irish who came to Newmains brought with themdevotion to the saints of their native land. Veyrevered Colmcille who like them had left Ireland tocome to Scotland; Patrick too who may have madethe journey in the opposite direction and Brigid,Mary of the Gael, a contemporary of Patrick. Brigid,Patrick and Columcille, this trinity of Celtic giants,share a grave, in Downpatrick, Co.Down.

It was to Brigid that the local Catholics turned whenthey chose a patron saint for the CatholicCommunity in Newmains.

Our Patroness is often called “Mary of the Gael”. Inlegend and folklore Celtic tradition is distinguishedby the fact that so many of its heroes are women. In the early days of Christianity this traditioncontinued. Brigid is the most admired of the CelticChristian heroes after Patrick.

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Brigid was born in Faughert around 1500 years agoand her birth was marked by signs and marvels.Neighbours told of a “Fire that stretched fromHeaven to Earth” that seemed to consume the housein which the child lay but which vanished when theyapproached. Vey saw this as a sign of the Holy Spirit.

She was sent into the service of a wealthy cattle owneras a herdswoman. An act of personal self-sacriRcewhich saved her master’s cattle persuaded him toreunite her with her home. But she was called to agreater family. Her wish was to bring souls to Godand soon her life was given over to this purpose. Butshe did not lose her personally attractive qualities. Shewas loved and much regarded for her strong andhappy personality as well as for her goodness andgenerosity. Many of the stories told of Brigid are legend ratherthan history but it is the goodness and generosity thatis their recurring theme. She is said several times tohave multiplied food to feed the poor and one storyeven has her changing bath-water into beer to slakethe thirst of some priests who had come to visit themonastery she founded.

Brigid recognized the special gifts that the women ofIreland could bring to the work of God. She founded

in Kildare a community of women. Vis was the Rrstreligious community in Ireland for women and sheis usually called Ireland’s Rrst Abbess. Ve Irish tookher memory wherever they went. She died at about70 years old and was buried in Kildare but was laterre-buried with Patrick & Colmcille at Downpatrickwhere they remain to this day.

After her death, we are told by Gerald of Wales(13th Century), a Rre was kept burning in herhonour for several centuries. May this CentenaryYear fan the Same of Faith in the parish named inher honour here in Newmains.

“vive ut semper vivas”

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EARLY TIMES AND CELTIC ROOTS

Scotland had experienced 1200 years of Communionwith the universal church before the reformation. Theinfluence of the Celtic Church had been strongthroughout. This part of Lanarkshire had beendedicated to the care of St. Nethan. It was part of theParish of Cambusnethan.

Cambus indicates the bends and meanders of theClyde as it passes through its flood plain on the wayto the sea. Newmains stands at the head of the slopeleading down to that plain. The name of the Parishdescribed its location as well as placing it in the careof Nethan.

Nethan had been an influential figure in keeping theCeltic Church in harmony with the rest of Europeduring times when communication between nationsand even regions could be fraught with difficulty. Hewas a king as well as a wise and holy man. Bede, fromTyneside, described him as such. (Bede also recordedan encounter between Columcille and a monster inLoch Ness). Nethan’s greatest achievement was toprevent a split over the correct date for the celebrationof Easter. (Easter’s date is related to the JewishPassover - the Sunday after the full moon after the21st March.) He worked to persuade Scotland toobey the decrees of the Synod of Whitby. Because ofthe influence of Nethan Scotland accepted theteaching of the universal church on this and othermatters -and continues to do so.

A TOWN AT THE CROSSROADS

Ve place which became Newmains after theIndustrial revolution has occupied a site astride thegreat natural routeways of Scotland.

Here the routes between North and South andbetween East and West meet. Ve great barrierblocking the North - South route has been, sinceancient times the River Forth. Until the 19thCentury the engineering skills required to build abridge spanning the Firth of Forth did not exist.Vose who wished to cross the river did so by ferryor travelled to Stirling, the lowest point on the riverwhere a bridge could be built. Any natural route fromthe South towards Stirling would pass close toNewmains. Likewise Newmains is at the heart of theCentral Lowlands which run from West to East acrossthe country.

In their movements between the Holy places ofScotland; from Iona, Lindisfarne and from Casa Albathe monks who brought Christianity to the countrymust have passed this way. Among them would havebeen Ninian, Aidan and Columcille.

Ve Roman armies had earlier marched here. It wasonly a little to the North that they built the greatrampart and ditch of the Antonine wall. InNewmains little trace is left of their passing. Atrackway through the Relds, just North of the village,was known as the Roman Road although whetherthere was any real connection with the Romans mustremain a matter for conjecture. Ve road does,however, follow a path which would have been asuitable one for anyone intending to cross the ravinewhich carries the River Calder.

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Elements of King Edward’s army as he marchedtowards Bannockburn would have passed here.Indeed Allan Stewart of Bonkyll (Bonkle) was killedin skirmishing before that battle. He left his name forthe village of Allanton. Ve Chapel built tocommemorate him gave its name to Chapel, a districtin Morningside. Another member of the Stewartfamily, John, died at the Battle of Falkirk.

We know then that Newmains has played the part ofsilent witness to many of the ancient and seminalevents in the history of Scotland but the position weoccupy was to have even more far reaching eQects inthe shaping of our community in modem times andin the reestablishing of the Catholic /church there.Truly it was the cross-roads of Scotland.

Easy transportation links make a site potentiallyattractive for heavy industry. Newmains had that. Ithad easy access to deep-water ports which madeimport-export of raw materials and Rnished goodseconomically. But added to its position it oQered arange of attractive, even vital, raw materials whosevery existence was a powerful lure for the “RobberBarons” who would control industry.

Coal was found here in abundance, sometimes evenbreaking through to the surface, (as the strip miningindustry of the 20th century shows). Ve name ofColtness, which means Coal point, shows us that itsavailability had been known for centuries. So, too,was iron ore available nearby at Fauldhouse in greatsupply and good quality. But ore was available nearerto hand even than that. Vose who remember the“Engine Pond” where West Crindledyke playingRelds now are will remember the “Coo Hill”. Viswas a spoil heap for an earlier iron ore mine. Vesesupplies, coupled with the favourable transportationpossibilities were more than enough to guarantee thatsomeone would Rnd Newmains an attractive locationfor manufacturing the iron and steel to provide theskeleton of the empire on which the sun never setSuch a man was Henry Houldsworth.

Henry Houldsworth established the Coltness Ironcompany and provided a magnet which drew theimpoverished and dispossessed of Ireland andScotland to Newmains while others of their

countrymen headed for America and England orwere transported against their will. In the 19thCentury they Sooded here to work in coal mines andiron works.

Ve Irish, especially, found themselves the objects ofconsiderable hostility and prejudice. Most of theinsults now oQered to immigrant groups were oQeredRrst of all to the Irish. Vey, nevertheless, heldtogether and weathered the storm. Vey had aburning desire to improve their own lot and an evenmore deep-seated desire to improve the lot of theirchildren. And they could see that education was a keyto unlock many of the doors closed against them.Allied to that was a Rerce desire to serve God in theway that their ancestors had done, through their ownCatholic Church. But they found themselves inlowland Scotland where the Reformation had almostwiped out the Catholic way completely.

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NEWMAINS, A HIVE OF INDUSTRY.

Ve growth of Newmains as a centre for heavyIndustry was swift. It rested, above all, on the decisionby Henry Houldsworth in 1839 to take advantage ofthe available raw-materials of an abundant localsupply of coal and a nearby source of Iron-ore inFauldhouse.

Previous to this time any importance that Newmainshad was derived from its position and potentialtransportation links. A one-horse coach, WattsNoddy which made the journey three times a week,had been the main link of the village to Glasgow.Many of the local weavers would walk to Glasgow.However four times a week the Edinburgh-Ayr stage-coach would stop at the coaching Inn, theBeilerophon, which stood where the Pastoral centrenow stands.

A route used by cattle drovers passed through thevillage and the area now known as Toll Park was usedas a gathering point for the herds and drovers whowere unable to pay the tolls.

Ve arrival of Houldsworth was to change all that. AtRrst his raw materials were carted but the expense ofthis encouraged a heavy investment in the railwaysystem which was enjoying huge growth at that time.Vis railway construction, the coal-mining which wasattempting to respond to the increased demandHouldsworth oQered and the ironworks produced apowerful surge in the demand for a strong and willingworkforce who could respond to the demands ofheavy manual labour.

Ve potato famine in Ireland and in parts of Scotlandhad, at the same time, caused a massive pool ofdispossessed and desperate workers who Sooded intothe area seeking work. Vey found it aplenty. Veyfound, though, that this was no promised land. Vework was back-breaking and ill-rewarded. Veemployers often unjustly used the power which thedesperation of their workforce gave them.

Vat desperate workforce experienced appallingconditions. As recently as the 19th Century 12 yearold boys were working underground in the mines.

Industrial death was ever-present and industrialdisease was simply a risk that had to be taken. Ve mines in the area were notorious for methanefuelled Rres. Ve workforce was expendable andreplacement workers could be found easily and inplentiful supply as they Sooded into the area.

Another source of power for employers was thecompany store system which operated and which wasregularly castigated by the local newspapers. Workerswere held by a system of debt and prices could bepitched at an artiRcially high level. Even communityleaders were involved. A.G.Simpson a local provostduring the 1860’s was involved in this operation inCarRn. But there were many.

It appeared, too, that any show of resistance by theworkforce would be ruthlessly suppressed. LordBelhaven evicted 96 families in 1856 following a 12week strike. He was assisted by police and dragoons.In the 1880’s many miners were imprisoned duringindustrial unrest. Many women were alsoimprisoned, some with babies.

It was into this cauldron of resentment and unrestthat the Rrst Catholics arrived in substantial numbers.Veir integration would not be easy. Ve communitywas experiencing hard times and did not welcomecompetition especially competition which seemed tostrengthen the hand of the forces which were alreadyranged against them.


Oe following article is reprinted from the brochurecommemorating the 5Oth Anniversary of the buildingof the present Church. It is a personal reminiscence by

the late John Reilly a native of Cleland who became anactive and faithful member of our Parish.

I REMEMBER

Ve earliest memory to which I can put a deRnitedate is the miner’s strike which occurred in thesummer of 1921. It was also the time I came to realizethat Cleland, where I lived was not, as some peopleimagine, the only place on earth. Somewhere therewas a place called Newmains, where my cousin, AnneMacDonnell was employed as a maid in the parochialhouse. Ve priest’s name was Father O’Carroll and hedid not have a church. However, steps were beingtaken to remedy that situation.

Ve houses which formed what was known inCleland as “Ve Square” had been demolished andthere was a plan to transport the stones from thesedwellings to Newmains and use them in the buildingof a church. Sure enough a team of eight young menarrived to put the plan into operation. Ve stoneswere loaded on a motor lorry, a rare animal in thosedays. Ve property of a Cleland man it served as abus at weekends. On Monday morning the top partwas removed and it became a platform lorry. Vework went on for eight or nine weeks until the strikeended, and the miners returned to their employment,defeated by want and privation. Sadly, my cousin diedthe following year and being a small boy I soon forgotthe men who had been loading the stones which weretaken to this place called Newmains.

Six years later, in August 1927 I came here to live,and found that no progress had been made in thecreation of a chapel, the term we generally use. Vework had not even begun, the hopes remainedunfulRlled, the dream had not come true. Ve stonescan still be seen in various parts of the grounds wherethey have been laid as kerb stones and as low walls toelevate parts of the garden. Ve only thing built withthem was a garage which used to be attached to thechapel house.

Michael Kearney is the sole survivor of the group thatcame to Cleland, the others being Jim, Tom & Pat

DuQy, a lad named Christy Lynch and three brothersof Mary & Sarah Diamond.

Early the following year, the Parish Priest, came to theschool with a message we were asked to carry home.Work would soon begin on a Parish Hall. He wasobviously pleased with his new development, but his“Good news” was not very well received. Vere waswidespread criticism and complaint’. “A chapel ismore needed than a hall.” Ve desire for a church wasparamount in the hearts of his Sock. Father Lyonspointed out that funds were in hand for a hail. Achurch would cost several times more, and the hallwould be used to raise funds for the great objective.

An annual event in those days was the parish reunionwhich always took place sometime in February andwas held in the local Co-op Hall in Manse Rd., a Rneexample of its kind tragically destroyed by Rre. Veparish would preside and, after a repast, theconsiderable vocal and musical talents that we hadwould provide the entertainment. Some of the artistesinvolved formed what became known as the RegentConcert Party which Sourished for a number of years.Ve last of these aQairs to be held in the Co-op Halloccurred on February 17th 1928.

During the spring of that year work on the hall hadbeen steadily progressing and by June all was ready.It was formally opened by Father Lyons on theevening of June 7th with the children providing akinderspiel called “Ve Midshipmite”, a repeatperformance being given the following night. In theensuing years the prediction of Father Lyons beganto come true. It was a slow business but with dances,concerts, social evenings and plays by the dramaticclub, the fund for the new church was graduallyincreasing. Vose were the days of highunemployment for many, with social security and thewelfare state still a long way ahead. Ve dawn of 1933brought news that suTcient money had beengathered to pay for the new church Ve Parish priestby that time was Father William Stopani. Born in theShetland islands, he had come here from St.Augustine’s, Coatbridge and on a windy Sunday Feb26th he ceremonially cut the Rrst sod to mark thestart of the work. Vis act was followed by aprocession and benediction. Now, at last, we wereunder way.


Ve fact that there was ample space was due to theforesight of father James Humble, Parish Priesttowards the close of the last Century. A native ofLiverpool he was responsible for the erection of thepresent Chapel House in 1897, at Rrst he lived in thehouse near the front gate. A special tribute is due toFather Humble and his Sock who, from small andhard-earned wages contributed not only to thechurch but to the upkeep of the school. Our forebearswere stalwarts indeed; no burden was too great to bearfor the Rock of Peter. Many people are greatlyimpressed when, for the Rrst time, they see ourspacious grounds, enhanced by those splendid trees,with the house, church, old school and hall, all self-contained as they say nowadays. When FatherHumble left Newmains it was to become Rector ofthe Royal Scots College in Valladolid in Spain.

Vroughout the summer of 1933 we watched ournew church taking shape. Economics decreed that,like the hall, it would be a brick structure. Ve day ofthe large stone ediRce with its spire pointing to thesky had gone for ever. As a contribution to thechurch, Patrick Gallagher, who was a stonemason,made a baptismal font, still in use, and two otherfonts which stood, for many years, at the insideentrance doors. A labour of love and skill. Due to thegenerosity of a Parishioner, a new altar had beeninstalled in what is now the Cathedral in Motherwell.Ve altar taken out, a Rne piece of work in carvedoak, was gifted to the parish. A motor lorry wasprovided by the local Co-op. Society, driven by a Mr.Scott of Newton Drive. Four men went with him.Fortunately it was in sections which helped a greatdeal! Everything went well and the altar arrived safelyand was put in position in good time for the greatday which had been set for Sunday Oct 8th’. Ve fourmen involved were Michael Kearney, Michael Burns,John Burns and John McGarry.

Ve opening ceremony was to be performed by thethen Archbishop of Glasgow. Donald Mackintosh, anative of Lochaber Long before he was due to arrive,a large crowd had gathered in the grounds, many ofthem former parishioners. When he arrived, HisGrace made a circuit of the grounds blessing thepeople, and then opened the door with a golden key.Solemn High Mass followed, the celebrant beingFather Courtney. Ve clergy were well represented asthey usually are on such occasions. Among the

notables present was a former headmistress of St.Brigid’s, the famous or notorious Miss McCluskey.In the afternoon the Archbishop administered thesacrament of ConRrmation. Sponsors for the childrenwere the headmaster Mr. Henvey and Mrs. Larkinwho, as a girl, had been present at the opening of theschool chapel in 1871.

In 1935 a local man. John O’Rourke joined theteaching staQ at St. Brigid’s and formed a foot- -ballteam. With only twelve boys old enough and bigenough to take part, his resources were slender. Whathappened was nothing short of incredible. Successfollowed success, we wondered when defeat wouldovertake them. It never did. Sixty matches theyplayed without a reverse. Large crowds were there tosee them play. Vere was great excitement and evengreater joy when in their red jerseys they were carriedshoulder high through the streets.

Father Stopani cuts the Lrst sod on the site of theNew Church at St. Brigid’s in February 1933. In

the background is the “Wee Hall” (nowdemolished) in which so many of the fundraising

events for the church had been held.


In 1937 Father Stopani died. Since his time we havehad a long list of clergymen, both parish priests andcurates. Such is the way of the Church. Priests are senthere and there. Vey come and go, but the high regardwe have for our clergy ensures that these changes causeonly the merest ripple. Most of our curates are still onduty, but Father Denis Hoban died in South Africa.We remember Father Vomas Kelly who wore roundhis neck the mark of wounds received in the GreatWar while serving with the H.L.I.

Ve altar so carefully brought from Motherwell hasgone and with it the altar rails, due to decisions madeby the Council convened by John XXIII, the RrstPope of that name for more than -six hundred years.It is a point of interest to us that John XXIII was thePope who in 1320 received from a ScottishParliament the famous Declaration of Arbroath. Vehall of 1928 has been demolished. Ve old schoolwith its memories of the legendary Miss McGarryand Miss Clark is our parishioners new hall.

If the Houldsworth family were to be a driving forcefor industry in the nineteenth century, many of theirworkers who had Sed the scourge of the Irish Famineand came here seeking work in the mushrooming in-dustries of railways, coal-mining and iron making,found a great leader in the person of Fr. John McCay.

With Fr John Black he was instrumental in settingup missions and parishes from Lanark, to Carluke, toWishaw and then Newmains, CarRn, Overtown andMotherwell establishing the structures of the faith inall this vast area.

Born in 1832 in Glenmornan, Co. Tyrone, John Mc Cay was educated in the Diocesan Seminary inDerry, then at Drumcondra near Dublin and receivedMinor orders in Dublin. He received a Canonicaldispensation to be ordained priest at the tender ageof 23 in the Convent of the Immaculate Conceptionin Glasgow in 1855.

After a short spell in St. John ' s in Glasgow, he wassent as Assistant in Lanark to Fr John Black in 1857.When Fr. Black moved to take charge of the WishawMission, Fr. Mc Cay was moved to St. Athanasius inCarluke where he built the school. He had stationsfor Confession at Lesmahagow, Auchengray,Bankend, Newmains, Cambusnethan(!) and Biggarwhere he said Mass on weekdays. He also had Sundayschools at Crofthead and Shotts! He was moved totake charge of the Wishaw Mission in 1860 andwithin a year he had built a chapel-school in Young St toaccomodate 500 pupils. He then built a chapel schoolin CarRn in 1862 which was attended from Wishawand after opening St. Ignatius in 1865, he built theold presbytery in 1870. He followed this with achapel school in Newmains in 1871 and another inOvertown in 1873.

Vis latter was dedicated to St. Patrick and couldaccomodate 200 people. In 1893, the OvertownCatholics decided that they would rather attend St.Ignatius and so the building was only used as a school

Another fund-raising event gets under way in the‘Wee Hall’ .

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REV. JOHN McCAY

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for a number of years thereafter. Fr. Mc Cay wasentrusted with Motherwell Mission when it wasdetached from Hamilton and before long he hadbuilt a wooden chapel school which soon became toosmall; a more commodious chapel school was builtin 1875 and it then became a separate Mission. Othernew Missions created during his tenure at St. Ignatiuswere Cleland in 1876 and Shieldmuir in 1891. Hewas raised to the Chapter of Canons of the Cathedralof St. Andrew in 1887. He was aware of the miserableconditions in which many of his parishioners livedand so he built a block of houses to show theauthorities what could be done in providing decenthomes for working people. Vus was created LoyolaPlace, the tenement building in Campbell Street,built with Parish Funds. Before leaving Wishaw, hehanded this block of houses over to St. Peter'sCollege, Bearsden with the proviso that the incomefrom them was to provide bursaries for students tothe priesthood, preference to be given to any from St. Ignatius. Subsequently he was appointed to St. Patrick's Coatbridge in 1893 and preached his lastsermon to his Wishaw congregation on Sunday 16thMay of that year. Ve church was crowded to excesswith people from all the neighbouring parishes,which had at one time formed part of the WishawMission. He immediately started work on thebeautiful St Patrick ' s church designed by Pugin ofLondon and the work was completed in three years.His health began to fail in 1900 and he died in 1903with his body being taken to lie before the high altarin St. Patrick ' s Coatbridge. Two days later a specialRequiem Mass was celebrated in St. Ignatius Church,one of the many he had been instrumental inbuilding. Ve bell, which he had caused to be hungin the church, rang mournfully for half an hourbefore the funeral mass for the late pastor.

Loyola Place, Wishaw. 24th. June 1873.

Sir, In reply to your query how much of the SchoolFees are retained from the Catholic workers of thedistrict Rnd their way to the Catholic Schools undermy charge. 1 would remind you in the Rrst place thatI have Four schools in operation at the presentmoment with an average attendance of over 600children. Teachers salaries are over £180 per annum.,and the extra outlay - including interest payable onthe money borrowed (nearly £2000 originally) for theerection of the schools premises is almost as muchmore. I would add that for seven years after myprincipal school was established the mine owners

persistently refused to allocate one penny of feescollected indiscrim-inately from the Catholic andProdestant workmen. Ve late Baillie Dean wes theonly exception. It is true Coltness Iron Companythrough Mr. James Hunter gave a donation of £10per annum. - one year ommited.

At present I am in receipt of about £70 per annumof school fees from the Glasgow Iron Works. Mr.Boyd, Messers Hudship & Co., and Mr. R. Ball.Nearly £50 of this sum is paid by the Glasgow IronCompany.

I believe that £800 and more are retained annually inthe name of school fees from the Catholic workmenbelonging to my congregation, including thoseemployed in the works of Mr. William Dixon ofCarRn who never gave a penny in support of theFlourishing school which has been established thereover ten years, for the beniRt of the children of hisworkmen.

In a word I heve erected schools at a cost of nearly£2000; I maintain them at an annual outly of £800.Ve mine owners exact £300 per annum., from theCatholic workmen, and of that sum £70 only Rndsits way to me for the support of the Catholic Schools.- I am Sir your obedient servant John McCay,Catholic Priest.

Oe Wishaw Advertiser" 19th. July 1873

REV. JOHN BLACK


Born in Glasgow on the 24th April 1824, John Blackattended St. Mary's College at Blairs in Aberdeen andwas ordained in Rome on the 21st May 1848, havingfurthered his religious education at the Scots Collegein Rome.

After only a short time as a curate in St. John's inGlasgow, in 1849 he was sent to open a new missionin Lanark, a territory which consisted ofLesmahagow, Carluke, Shotts, Crofthead andNewmains. He persevered on his own to attend thespiritual wants of this area for nearly eight years, untilhe obtained the assistance of Fr. John Mc Cay, ofwhom more anon. With such a large area to cover, itwas fortunate that he was a man of robustconstitution (apparently a twenty mile walk was noserious exertion.)

In 1855, he purchased ground in Carluke for a chapeland Fr. Mc Cay became it's Rrst pastor when hejoined Fr. Black in 1857. Carluke then became aseparate mission.

Ve population around Wishaw was now growingrapidly and since Fr. Black had proved so very adeptin opening new Missions, he was appointed to openthe new Mission in Wishaw in 1859. Without chapelor chapel house. Fr. Black said Mass in a hall abovethe stables of the hotel at the corner of Main Streetand Cleland Road and lived in a tenement. Within ayear he was appointed the Rrst pastor of St. Vincent'sin Glasgow and was succeeded in Wishaw by Fr.JohnMcCay in 1860. However St.Ignatius had not seenthe last of him. He returned to assist Fr. Mc Cay fortwo years from 1887-9 and died as Parish Priest ofCardowan in 1904.

DEAN VAN HECKE

Father Van Hecke was born at Bruges, in Belgium,on the 31st October, 1854. He studied Humanitiesat a local Episcopal college before studyingPhilosophy at Roulers. He came to a newEcclesiastical college in Partickhill at the invitation ofArchbishop Eyre and was ordained by Bishop McLachlan of Galloway. He served Rrst in St. John 's,Glasgow.and then in St. Paul 's, Shettleston.

In 1893 he came to Wishaw as Parish Priest andimmediately put the church into a better state ofrepair and reseated the aisles. A kind and gentle man,he always had a word for young and old and lived forthe people of Wishaw. He made alterations andrenovations to the school buildings which had servedtheir purpose well for 30 years. Ve Lady Altar wasinstalled the year after his arrival. Simultaneously , heenlarged Newmains chapel school by adding asanctuary and he also built a presbytery there. Venew Mission was completed by 1896 and Fr. JamesHumble appointed in charge. St. Ignatius ' school wasnow too small and so he planned and completed newschool buildings with accomodation for 500 children.With the growth of the population he realised alsothat more accomodation was required in the churchand so undertook a programme of alterations andimprovements, which are detailed elsewhere. Vechurch accomodated 900 people after his eQorts.In1894, a new pipe organ was installed under thesupervision of his brother, Professor Van Hecke of theRoyal Chapel in Brussels.

Dean Van Hecke also served on the School board andthe Parish Council, thus serving the general public ofWishaw as well as his own congregation.. He activelyhelped his homeless countrymen during the FirstWorld War and was decorated for his work in thisarea by the King of the Belgians. He continued hiswork in beautifying the church and continued untilnight fell - "when no man can work." He diedsuddenly on the morning of Tuesday 20th December1927 well prepared . His diary found at his bedsiderecorded that on the night before his death, he madehis Examination of Conscience and performed thevarious priestly exercises to which he had pledgedhimself.


BUILDING A CHURCH As the number of Catholics living in Newmains grewarrangements for their spiritual needs became lesssatisfactory. Vose needs had originally been servedfrom Hamilton. Later the responsibility was taken bythe Parish priest at Lanark and as the growthcontinued Newmains was included within the parishat Carluke.

But the institutional church drew ever closer toNewmains and at last in 1857 our forefathers foundthemselves included within the boundaries of themission at Wishaw. So numerous were Catholicsbecoming that a building might be considered toserve their needs in Newmains. But another 14 yearswere to pass before that need could be addressed.

HOPES AND DREAMS Ve aspirations of the growing Catholic Communityin Newmains were indicated by their choice ofbuilding.

Vey saw a choice between two needs, both expensiveto fulRll, and especially in the circumstances of thepoverty and want they suQered.

Vey had a burning wish for a church in which theycould practice the faith they had brought with theminto their new home but they had also a burning wishto ensure that their children would be given theopportunity of education.

Vey found a way of reconciling these choices bydeciding to build one building which would fulRllthe function of both church and school.

A FIRST BUILDING Ve Rrst building to meet the needs of the CatholicCommunity in Newmains was constructed in 1871.It comprised a gray sandstone building which stoodnear the crossroads in the centre of the village. It wasdesigned to serve as a school and also to be the venuefor weekly masses.

More than 150 children would attend the school. Vecongregation may be impoverished but this buildingdemonstrated their lofty aspirations. It showed theirdesire to retain their Catholic identity and to educatethe new generations both in the ways of their faithand in the secular learning which might protect themfrom the poverty which aUicted their parents, it wasalso a statement, carved in stone, that althoughNewmains was, for most of them, an adopted homeit was to be a permanent one. Vey were here to stay.

Ve school and Mass-centre served them well but stilltheir numbers grew. In 1894 a sanctuary was addedto make the building a more digniRed setting for theMass. Already they had been a station of the parishat Wishaw for 23 years. Mass was celebrated weeklybut there was still no resident priest.

In the 25th year of the period as station of Wishawcame the announcement for which they had waitedso long. Father Humble would come to live amongthem. At last Newmains could be seen as acommunity in its own right serving God.

Ve school was later to double in size and, followingthe 1922 Education Act the Parish was relieved ofsome of its massive burden of costs. Ve building wasleased from the Church and maintained by the Local

BUILDINGSVis section deals with the need to use buildings in the service of God, asgathering places to Worship Him, as places where the young could be

educated and as places where the community could meet together socially.


Education Authority as a Catholic school. It was nolonger required as a church after the construction ofthe new church in 1933 but continued to functionas a school until in 1959 with the construction of anew school in Newton Drive it seemed to haveoutlived its useful function.

But another role awaited. Ve parish hall, (nowreplaced by a car-park,) was small and not really

adequate for the needs of the parish. Under theleadership of Mgr John O’Donnell a group ofparishioners undertook the massive task of convertingthe school building into a hall complex.

Two halls with an adjoining kitchen were fashionedand from the derelict building grew a useful, evenvital social centre for the parish.

When Fr. Humble arrived in the Parish a major priority was to construct a housewhich would function not only as a residence for the priests but as parish headquarters,reception area and oTce. Vis is the building constructed for that purpose. It was

completed in 1897, a year after his arrival.

OUR HOUSE


Ve Church was built in 1933 under the direction of Father Stopani. Its design was bymessrs Stellmac and similar churches are to be found elsewhere in Scotland, although few

have been favoured with the pleasant, spacious, woodland setting of St. Brigid’s.

Ve Soor plan employed two aisles leading forwards from the doors at the rear. Vispattern was abandoned during the sixties with a renewal and refurbishment programmeexecuted by Mgr John O’Donnell. At that time new seating was installed. Following the

liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council the geography of the sanctuary wasradically changed and the oaken backdrop which once graced the altar had to be removed.

Ve altar furniture is now constructed of grey/white marble and the arched theme is inharmony with the arch over the sanctuary itself.

Another restoration, involving heating, electrical installations and the lighting as well ascarpeting and painting was undertaken for the Centenery Celebrations. Ve capacity ofthe church under normal circumstances is now around 400 people. Ve Sancutary Arch

carries the Latin inscription:-

“vive ut semper vivas” which is our new motto and means “Live that you might live forever”


ST. BRIGID’S SCHOOL

Newmains R C. School which later came to be knownas St. Brigid’s School opened its doors for the Rrst timein 1871 with a Roll of 137 pupils and I under theleadership of Miss Mary Swift. Ve original conceptwas for an establishment which catered for a completebasic education throughout the years of compulsoryeducation. (5 -13) Vere were seven Primary stages tobe followed by an advanced division.

In those times, more than a century ago, the Catholicpopulation was drawn overwhelmingly from the“working” classes and the opportunity for universityeducation or, indeed, any form of preparation for theprofessions was rare indeed. Only the most far-sightedand self-sacriRcing parents were able to aim for it. Andmany who would have liked to aim that way wereprevented by poverty and want from doing so. Veadvanced division, therefore, was aimed at providing arounded basic education rather than at an attempt atUniversity entrance.

Some of the pupils who showed promise could becomePupil Teachers, moving from classroom attendance.

Pupils who did wish to progress beyond AdvancedDivision had to travel to Motherwell and to Park Streetto Rnd a school which oQered courses leading torecognized qualiRcations. Vese pupils were few innumber.

By the end of World War II it had become clear thatthe school building was not adequate to fulRll theneeds of a Catholic Population which was no longerwilling to accept the existence of a ‘glass ceiling’ tohinder the achievements of its children. In 1947 thisinadequacy was recognized and the Advanced Divisiondisappeared. It was replaced by a centralized provision

of Junior Secondary Education at St. Joseph’sSecondary in Motherwell.

By the early Rfties the inadequacy of the building foreven primary education was becoming obvious andnegotiations began for its replacement. JamesDempsey, M.P. played a major role in these. At last, in1953, the Lanarkshire Education authority concededthat a new primary school would be built and inDecember of that year went further by agreeing toconstruct a Secondary department at the same time.Ve latter was never to come to pass. Plans were,however, put in hand for the building of a newCatholic School.

In 1957 a Rre which had broken out among theelectrical installations at the Westwood Road entrancewas spotted in time by a parishioner (Lizzie Welsh) andthe destruction of the building was averted althoughonly narrowly. Vis was to be almost the last act in thedrama of the old St. Brigid’s School and shortlyafterwards construction began on a new school sitedin Toll park, a short distance away.

Ve new school opened at Easter 1959 under theguidance of Mr. Alfred Keenan who was, himself, todie suddenly in the summer of that year Ve newschool year began with the appointment of Mr. BobbySherry installed as Head Teacher.

Ve provision of Catholic Education in the post waryears was complex. All pupils attended St. Brigid’sprimary until 12 years of age when transfer to theSecondary took place. Following the “Quali”, or 11-plus as it became known south of the Border, therewere a variety of options.

Girls who satisRed the entrance requirements couldattend Elmwood Convent School in Bothwell. Boyscould likewise attend Our Lady’s High in Motherwell.A few pupils chose to attend the CoEd Catholic SeniorSecondary at WhiUet in Coatbridge.

Ve others, either by choice or by not satisfying theentrance requirements of these could attend St. Joseph’sJunior Secondary.

Vankfully all this was simpliRed with the provision ofAll-through Comprehensive education at St. Aidan’sin Wishaw from the late sixties.


Mrs Catherine Corr Head Teacher

St. Brigid’s Primary School

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2012

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St. Brigid’s Primary School

As St Brigid's Primary School celebrates 140years, I'm extremely honoured to be headteacher. It's been four years since I joined theschool and a year since becoming head teacher- a short time in St Brigid's long history, butmore than enough to understand theimportant role our school plays in ourcommunity.

Like many of our pupils, whose parents andgrandparents were at St Brigid's, my motherwas also a pupil. And the affinity andconnection that we have to our past hascreated a school built on solid foundations andvalues that we are all extremely proud of.

Looking to the future, it is my goal to allowevery child at St Brigid's Primary, irrespectiveof ability or background, the opportunity to

reach their full potential in all aspects of their education. is at times can be challenging, butwe're very fortunate that we have the full support of Father Kelly, our parish and our localcommunity who help us achieve what we set out to do.

After 140 years St Brigid's Primary School is still going strong and, I believe with experience andage, we're just going to get better.

Catherine Corr Head Teacher

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Mrs Catherine Corr Head Teacher 2012

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STAFF PIC STILL TO COME

St. Brigid’s Primary School StaK 2012

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Class 1, 1916

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Mrs Elizabeth CopeMrs Cope started life as a Primary 1 pupil in the old school in 1956. She then returned as a Student

Teacher in 1968 before beginning her teaching career in St. Brigid’s in 1971. Apart from a year way atForth Primary, Mrs Cope has dedicated her teaching career at St. Brigid’s Primary for 40 years.

ConLrmandi 2012

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First Communion Class 1933

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Vis pencil drawing of the Parish Hall was done by Robert Young in July 1997.

Ve building was the Rrst one to serve the Catholics of Newmains, being built as acombined church and school in 1871 and later extended and refurbished as the

community grew in size. It originally accommodated 300 people for Sunday mass and by1894 had a school population of 137 pupils. It was extended Rrst in 1895 (an extensionopened by Bishop John Maguire, auxiliary Bishop to Archbishop Charles Eyre)

Later it was further extended and refurbished by Father Bird.

It ceased to function as a church in 1933 and as a school was replaced in 1959.

It continues to be the social centre of the Parish and in fact many of the events whichmarked the centenary of the parish were organized in it by the Parish Social Group.


Letter from late headteacher for Centenary of Parish

Ve staQ in St. Brigid’s School recognize the responsibility that working in this vitally important part ofthe parish community brings. (We take some pride in the fact that the school was a “mature” twenty-Rveyears old when the Parish was born.) We also are proud of the contributions to parish life made by theteachers in the school throughout its history. Vey have instructed the children in the Faith, have preparedthe children for the Sacraments and by their direct involvement in Parish aQairs have oQered a role-modelfor the children in their personal lives. Vese examples oQer a challenge and an example to those of usworking in the school at present.

We try to reach out into that Parish community by inviting lay people to become prayer-partners atimportant stages in the lives of the children and by joining regularly with parishioners at Mass in theChurch. We have seen the enthusiasm with which members of the Parish have joined with us in the greatoccasions of school and Parish life. We have also been grateful for the participation of the priests of theParish. Vese features we regard as signs of a productive partnership between Church, Home and School.

May that partnership persist for another hundred years.

Isobel Gault. Head Teacher

Centenary school staK


COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF LANARK

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

OFFICIAL OPENING

OF

ST. BRIGID’SROMAN CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

NEWMAINS

BY

COUNCILLOR JOSEPH K. RUSSELL

ON

MONDAY, 27th April, 1959 at 11 a.m

Above is shown a reproduction of the front page of the programme for the oTcial opening of the new school.

Ve speakers on this occasion included Mr. Alfred Keenan, the Head Master and Mr. John 0‘Rourke an old friend, teacher and parishioner of St. Brigid’s

Ve opening was by another faithful friend and servant of Newmains of many years standing, Councillor Joseph Russell.


Children are the centre of any civilised community and so it was for the founders ofSt. Brigid’s. Veir school was quickly established and this neat and tidy group, under

the care of their teacher Miss McGarry in 1916, conceals the poverty whichsurrounded many of their families. Vis serene and peaceful picture was taken while

the horrors of a World War were taking place in the mud of Europe.

Ve little that their parents had was focused on the well being of the children.

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Relay Team with adults: Back Row: Mr Bradley, John Smith, Fr O’Donnell, Jake Bradley, Mr John O’Rourke

Front Row: Rose Burns, Agnes Sneddon, Mary Burns, S Doolan, Mary Dale.

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Over the years the children attending the school have enjoyed considerable successin many Relds of human endeavour. Vis photograph shows a team which won theLanarkshire relay Championship.

School netball teams from the immediatepre-war years:Back Row: Agnes Sneddon, Ellen McLenaghan, Miss Rose Farnon,Cathie Brawley, Cathy Clark, May Brown.Front Row: Cathie Marley, Molly Oomas,Sarah McVerry.

Relay Team with adults:Back Row: Mr Bradley, John Smith, Fr O’Donnell, Jake Bradley, Mr John O’RourkeFront Row: Rose Burns, Agnes Sneddon,Mary Burns, S Doolan, Mary Dale.

Mary Flynn, Hannah McAleavy, Mary O’Donnel, Miss Rose Farnon, Mary Burns, Margaret Conroy, Denise Doyle, Julia Smith, Cathie Sherry.

Miss Ryan, Mr McLuskey, Miss McGarry,Father Humble, Miss Campbell.


Ve National road-relay Championship took place in Grangemouth in October. It featuredhundreds of the Rnest young Athletes in Scotland from as far aReld as the Northern Isles and theBorders as well as from the entire Central belt.

Anne Marie McGinnes, Donna Marie Hamilton and Samantha McWhinnie were clear winnersin the race which stretched over three miles starting and Rnishing in Grangemouth Arena.

Mark Lennon took part in the Scottish Cross-countryChampionship at Kirkcaldy in the Spring. Having wonevents at local and even County level it was expectedthat he might do well, he did even better than that bybeating a Reld of 350 runners to become ScottishChampion.

St. Brigid’s Athletics Teams were coached towards theseachievements by their teacher Mrs. Agnes Dougan andby Mr. George Kyle.

As if to celebrate the Centenary two major successes, perhaps the most striking inthe entire history of the Parish, were achieved by pupils of St. Brigid’s School in

Athletics this year.

On both occasions National Championships were won.


PATRICK DUFFY

Vis year spanning 1996-97 is truly a vintage one forSt. Brigid’s and its people. Not only do we celebrateour centenary as a parish but also the contribution ofone of our Parishioners to the missionary activity ofthe church.

Ve DuQy family are a well-known, well-regardedfamily in our parish and have been well representedfor many years and several generations in ourcongregations. Patrick is the second of three childrenof Pat and Eileen DuQy and the brother of Bernadetteand Jacqueline.

Patrick was born in 1971 and attended St. Brigid’sSchool until, in 1982, he began his secondaryschooling at St. Aidan’s. Already the call towardsbecoming a priest and serving God among the world’spoor people was becoming clear to him and after onlya year he entered the Junior Seminary of the XaverianMissionaries in Coatbridge where he remained until1988 and where he completed his Secondaryeducation.

During the next two years Patrick studied Sociologyand Philosophy at Chesters College and GlasgowUniversity while living in the Xaverian House in

OUR PEOPLEIt is not possible to chronicle every parishioner across the century. But torepresent and give a Savour of St. Brigid’s some few of them have beenchosen to represent the whole. Ve actual choice of individuals dependedupon reminiscences of parishioners still living. If someone in your family isnot here and should be remembered in this way please submit details and aphotograph and a page will be produced which can be added to your copy

of the brochure.


Glasgow. Ve next stage of his education was to takehim to Italy where he studied Italian and underwentthe one year Novitiate of his order.

Patrick was ordained in 1998 and continues to servethe Xaverian Fathers in their work in Scotland. He isat present school Chaplain at Holy Cross HighSchool, Hamilton.

ELAINE PENRICE

Elaine was born in 1972 and is the eldest daughterof David and Ann Penrice and older sister of Clare

and Stephen. She moved to St. Brigid’s Parish at theage of 6 weeks following her baptism in St. Patrick’s,Shieldmuir.

She was a popular and successful pupil at St. Brigid’sSchool and later at St. Aidan’s High where she Rrstmade contact with the Daughters of St. Paul, areligious order whose role she found attractive andstimulating.

Ve Order was founded by an Italian Veologian FrJames Alberione at the beginning of the 20th century.His new order was dedicated to continuing themission of St. Paul in spreading the Word of God toall peoples. As the Century and the technology hasdeveloped so too have the means of carrying out thistask. Ve Daughters of St. Paul work in Radio, TV.,Audio-Visual productions, Music, Computers andthe Internet as well as the Print Media. All these arecalled into use so that everything the modern worldoQers can give glory to God.

Elaine gained a place at Duncan of JordanstoneCollege of Art in 1990. Sadly illness interrupted herstudies for two years, but after surgery and medicaltreatment she was able to resume her career andgained an honours degree in Illustration and Printingfrom Dundee University.

While in Dundee she continued to maintain thecontacts, Rrst established during her schooldays, withthe Daughters of St. Paul. She was also active in thelife of the Cathedral parish and UniversityChaplaincy as a Minister of the Eucharist andSacristan. She was a member of the University ofDundee Catholic Society set up and maintained bystudents to support and educate students in theirfaith. She became ‘Vice-President of the Society.During her Rnal year Elaine became Director ofPublicity. Elaine is described i.e. “a brilliant liturgicalartist” by the Chaplain to the University. Herillustrations of the Stations of the Cross are displayedin the new chapel.

Elaine made her Rnal profession with the daughtersof St. Paul at the Daughters of St. Paul in Langley on29th June 2008. She is at present serving in the orderin London.

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because Christ Jesus has made mehis own

Phil 3:12-14

Sr Elaine Penrice

Final ProfessionDaughters of St Paul29th June 2008

Holy Family Church, Langley

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JOHN BROWN

John Brown lived his entire life in Newmains. Healso, throughout his life, cared deeply for his Parish.But he was a man of many interests.

He was a professional footballer with Airdrie duringthe war years. At the end of the war, when theprofessional game began to reorganize, he wasalready in his mid-twenties. Later he became anavid golfer.

John was convivial and enjoyed the company of hisfamily and friends. He was a rare mixture; thelifelong abstainer from alcohol (and member of thePioneer Association) who was tolerant and evenenjoyed the company of the less abstemious. Hehad a pleasant tenor voice and contributed to manyoccasions in the Parish hall with a song or two.

He enjoyed an interest in horse-racing although hewould have acknowledged a stronger interest ingreyhounds and an even deeper fondness forfootball and for Celtic especially.

John Brown had been active for many years inparish aQairs. He was a faithful member of St. .V.de P. and a pass-keeper. He was promoter of a parishlottery, the “Cosy-Pools” for a time. He became oneof the Rrst lay Ministers of the Eucharist in St.Brigid’s.

John Brown was born in 1921. His Universitycareer, like his football career, was interrupted bythe war and he was sent to work in the Laboratoryof the Munitions factory of Royal Ordnance atBishopton. He became a teacher in 1948 andRnished his career as Head Teacher at St.Columcille’s in Rutherglen Vis followed spells asHead in St. Joseph’s, Tollcross and St. David’s,Plains.

John died 1984 and is survived by his wife, Liz, histhree daughters and two sons, and severalgrandchildren.


BRIDGET MCGARRY

Miss McGarry may well have been the most widelyknown parishioner in the history of our Parish. Herlife was largely given to the service of others in herown family, in the school where she moved frombeing pupil teacher to a brief spell as Headmistressfollowing the death of James Henvey and in the widerParish Community where her kindnesses wereconcealed with the same thoroughness with made hersuccessful in the classroom.

She was in tune with the spirit of her age. To sparethe rod and thereby spoil the child was, for her, anact of betrayal which she would not countenance. Shepreferred, however, to substitute her knuckles for arod and many of her former pupils bear testimony,to this day, of the eQectiveness of the contact betweenher knuckles and a human head in motivating pupilsto learn. But she would not spare herself in servingthem. She was even more demanding of herself than

she was of her pupils, and sternness did not concealher care for them. A lasting legacy of her life in St.Brigid’s was a song “Gliding” which generations ofchildren, now become pensioners, know.

(Ve song is reproduced in this publication)

Bridget McGarry never married. Vis was due to apromise she made to care for the children of her deadsister, Maranne. She did this well too. Both boys wereseen through their education as was another nephew,Henry, the son of her dead brother. In addition tothis, around 1928, she travelled regularly by bus toKilmarnock after her hard days work in school whilenursing her brother, Jimmy, through his Rnal illness.

Her determination to overcome odds and succeed isalso well illustrated by a situation during her studies.She required to achieve a standard in Piano techniqueto complete her qualiRcation. Her family, on theother hand, was not able to provide a piano. Bridgetsolved the dilemma in a quite remarkable way. Shetook chalk and drew the piano keys on a chest (kist)in her house and practised on that. She achieved thestandard, out-performing better-oQ students who didhave the piano in their own homes.

Seeing much poverty around her was diTcult to bear.She arranged regularly with a local grocer to deliver abasket of groceries to some needy family with theinstruction that he was to say only that “someone”had sent it. Vis emerged only after her death.

Bridget’s Grand-nephew, James, is a priest of theSalesian Fathers serving, for the present, the parish ofSt. Clare’s in Easterhouse.

Bridget McGarry was born in Newmains in 1882 andlived throughout her life in the Parish. She died in1969 at 86 years old leaving a legacy of memories andprecisely four shillings in cash after funeral expenseswere paid. Ve four shillings was used for candles.


PATRICK GALLACHER

For as long as the stones that he cut and dressedremain in our church Patrick Gallacher (above right)will be a symbol of the debt that we owe to ourforebears in the early days of the parish. He put hisskills in stoneworking to the service of God and hisfellow-parishioners.

Patrick was involved in the attempt by FatherO’Carroll to gather materials to build a Rtting housefor the worship of God in Newmains. Although thatattempt did not succeed he later worked at thebuilding of the church that we now use.

He is pictured with one of the Holy water stoups thathe fashioned and which were part of the set thatincluded the Baptismal font now restored to anhonoured place in our church.

Patrick Gallagher was born in Motherwell in 1881,later moving to Newmains. He married BridgetKearney in 1908 and his work as a stonemasonsupported his wife and the four children born tothem. Both of his daughters, Alice Cook andMargaret Macdermid, remain in the parish as do hisgrandchildren and great-grandchildren. Patrick diedin 1951.

PETER CLARK

Vose of us who remember Peter will remember himas a comforter in times of trouble. Peter Clarkdevoted himself to the service of the poor in the St.‘Vincent de Paul Society for many years. Whenbereavement came Peter Was Rrst to oQer bereavedfamilies the comfort and consolation of prayer. Fewwere the families who did not turn to Peter to leadthe recitation of the Rosary in their own homes. Hewas a man of great generosity of spirit and gentlenessof manner.

Peter, who was born in 1901 was a miner. He ispictured here with (Big) Jim Ryan, another stalwartbut one who is fortunately still with us although henow lives in Wishaw.

Peter Clark died in 1977. He left no directdescendants but nephews and nieces continue hisservice to St. Brigid’s and a multitude of his friendsremember him with aQection and gratitude.


SISTER MAGDALENE

Ve image of an elderly Nun, wearing the habit ofher order, but with the added features of a crashhelmet and goggles which she wore while riding hermotorbike is one which remains vivid for manyresidents of Newmains.

Vis was Sister Magdalene. Practical as ever she hadmade the decision that the motorcycle oQered cost-eQective and Sexible transportation.

But Sister Magdalene had more surprises in store. A trained scientist who had taught science in aGlasgow secondary school she entered the Helpers ofthe Holy Souls Order in 1936.

It was in the order that she found what was to be herhighest calling. Her vocation was directed towardshelping those dealing with the end of life, whethertheir own or that of a loved-one. Sister Magdaleneprayed for the dead; she comforted the dying; shecomforted the families of the dying; and in a Rnal actof love and humility she washed and prepared forburial the remains of the dead. Families all overLanarkshire found God brought to their homes by agentle nun with the gift of oQering the comfort ofunconditional love.

She had, too, a great love for children. When the ruleof her Order permitted Sister Magdalene took up apost as a teacher in primary Schools, Rrst in St.Ignatius, Wishaw and, for a period of six years in St.Brigid’s. She retired in 1977 aged 67 years. Havingspent 28 years in the convent in Newmains, SisterMagdalene moved to Govan in 1982 and toHamilton in 1987 all the while continuing her oQerof friendship and support where they were needed.

But more than any other activity her life was given toprayer.

Sister Magdalene was born in Coatbridge in 1910.She graduated B.Sc. from Glasgow University andentered the Helpers of the Holy Souls in 1936. Sheserved with them in France, England and Edinburghas well as Lanarkshire.

She remained in the order for more than 53 yearsuntil her death in 1990.


Pictured above is a family group showing Bobby Youngwith two of his grandchildren.

BOBBY YOUNG

Bobby was a willing and tireless worker in our parishand a well-known Rgure in his native village. Hiscontemporaries knew him as a practical joker on thegrand scale and as an abundantly witty man. Duringhis working life in the Coltness Ironworks hecontributed to the folklore of the village with manyinnocent but hilarious pranks, in the days also whenbetting was an illegal but ever-present industry Bobby“lifted lines” for his contemporaries and there wouldhave been many occasions when his good humourand good reputation protected him from theoverzealous application of the law.

Bobby Young was born in 1890 and married JoanMcLeod from Arisaig. Only one of the three childrenof their marriage remains active in the Parish, Williebecame a well-known Rgure in his own right but diedduring this Centenary year and Bobby died quiterecently in Wishaw. Meg remains a member of theparish.

Bobby (Sir) himself died in 1968 at the age of 77

His grandchildren and great-grandchildren remainpart of our congregation every Sunday.

JAMES HENVEY

James Henvey was a man who left an indelibleimprint on St. Brigid’s. Vis was all the more curiousbecause he had never lived in the Parish.

Born in Glenboig and one of 19 children, he waseducated in St. Mungo’s School in Glasgow. Heserved in the Royal Navy during the Rrst great warwith H.M.S. Amethyst, H.M.S. DeRance andH.M.S. Victory.

After the war he became Rrst of all a teacher in St.Brigid’s school and was later appointed Head Teacher.While Head Teacher he was sponsor for all boys(Bridget McGarry for girls) on the Rrst occasion thatthe Sacrament of ConRrmation was conferred in thenew church in 1937.

James composed a hymn, still used in the parish, toSt. Veresa. His daughter Veresa spent her entireteaching career in St. Brigid’s becoming AssistantHead and a well-known and much loved Rgure in herown right. Together they gave over 60 years of serviceto St. Brigid’s. Veresa, although retired prematurely,still contributes regularly to the life of the school.

James Henvey, born on 27th of Dec. 1890 died onMay 25th 1937 while still serving as Head-teacher.


DENIS AND MARY JACKSON

Mary Jackson was married to Denis for 32 years butremained known in her native village as MaryMoulds. Such is the way in a village community.

Mary’s family were well known in the parish. Her Rrsthusband was killed when his ship was torpedoedwhile escorting a convoy in 1941 She was no strangerto tragedy. Her brother, Paddy, a policeman, had beenkilled in a traTc accident while engaged in pointsduty.. Mary worked with the Co-operative and laterin Law Hospital. Ve Catering skills she learned therewere put to the service of her Parish. Only a fewweeks before her death she worked at a function inthe Parish Hall. Mary was a leading Rgure in theactivities of the Women’s Guild.

But not only St. Brigid’swas to beneRt from herenergy and enthusiasm.She worked in theConvent of the Helpers ofthe Holy Souls on BonkleRoad. She was deeplyinvolved with theAssociates there.

Denis Jackson, her secondhusband, had been bornin Berryhill and hadalready worked with theSt. V. de P. Society in St.Ignatius Parish.. He hadbeen in the Royal Artilleryduring WWII and was bytraining a carpenter. InNewmains he joined theSt. V. de P. society, becoming its President. He workedendlessly during the conversion of the old school toParish Hall. He was a quiet, unassuming andtransparently good man. His free time and skills weregiven without fuss and without seeking prominence.He was for many years treasurer for Meals- on-Wheels, and was a founder member of theCommunity Council. He represented his parish on

the Christian Aid Committee for a considerable timeand willingly worked for the relief of poverty in thethird world.

Denis was a member of a family who haddistinguished themselves in the service of the church.His brother, Pat, had been like Denis a lifelongmember of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and astalwart of the boys guild movement. Pat Jackson washonoured by the Pope for his life’s work. Vesignature on the document conferring this honour isthat of Pope John Paul I whose papacy lasted only 30days.

Denis and Mary Jackson were born in 1913. Veymarried in 1953. Mary died on 19th April 1985while Denis died on 1 June 1991.


WILLIAM YOUNG Willie died during the Centenary year. Vesuddenness of his death was stunning and thecommunity knew that great change had taken placein its midst.

Willie Young was part of the landscape of St. Brigid’s.Mass-goers had come to expect to see him. He was aMinister of the Eucharist and a reader; he was a pass-keeper and Lifelong member of the S. V. de P.; hedrove the sick to mass and had done so for more than20 years; he would lead prayers in the church whenrequired.

Most of the men of the Parish “of a certain age”remembered him as a devoted oTcial of the boysguild. Vey remembered him for his good-nature andunfailing courtesy. (One of them, CouncillorMcKendrick, remembered him in a practical way byarranging for a street to be named after him.) Vey

remembered the time he had given to them and totheir interests.

Willie led the saying of the Rosary at many funeralsin recent years. He had been a long term member ofthe CMS in the Parish.

All of these functions were important, perhaps evenvital in the life of the Parish but they are not the onlyreasons for remembering him.

During World War II Willie Young served with theR.A.F. on the Island of Malta where he experiencedthe intensive bombing campaign that the islandsustained. He met and married his wife, Mary, there.After the end of the war he returned and set up homein Newmains.

Willie had no harsh words to say. In public and inprivate he was amiable and good-humoured. A smilewas never far away whether he was discussingfootball, race-horses or more serious (?) matters. Hewas ever ready to talk and, more unusually, ever readyto listen.

As the son of a “Bookie” he had a long-term interestin horse-racing and enjoyed a “Sutter”. He had alifelong interest in the well-being of a football club inthe East End of Glasgow and enjoyed the companyof a wide circle of friends but was never happier thanwhen with his family.

Willie Young was born in 1920. He became a teacherand ended his teaching career with spells as Headteacher in St. Patrick’s, Shotts and Rnally in St. Serf ’sPrimary in Airdrie from which he retired in 1985 andwhere he continues to be remembered with aQection.Even after his retirement he represented the Churchas a member of St. Brigid’s School Board.

Perhaps, in a lifetime of achievement, theachievement which he most valued was thepresentation of the Award - Bene Merenti which hereceived from the Bishop in 1994 in recognition ofhis lifelong contribution to the life of the church.


Vese sisters gave much of their lives to the service ofthe Parish of St. Brigid’s.

Vey were the daughters of Vomas and CatherineClark. Vomas had been a miner and on leaving thepits due to signs of a respiratory illness found workin the Ammonia works at Coltness Iron Co.

Jeannie and Katy, as they were known locally, wereborn in 1889 and 1896 respectively, the latter beingjust a short time before the arrival of Father Humble.

Vey were educated at our school and Jeannie wenton to become a Pupil-Teacher, later studying atDowanhill College for full professional qualiRcations.After short spells elsewhere she was appointed toNewmains RC under the leadership of the legendaryMiss McCluskie.

Jean was dedicated to the all-round development ofthe community she served.. She trained Altarboys forthe church. She was a catechist to those who wished

to be instructed in the faith. She played the organ andworked with the choir. She also worked on schooldramatic productions, one of these being “Dan theNewsboy” which was presented at the Pavilion (laterthe Plaza Cinema) in Wishaw during the 1920’s.

Katy, who kept house after the premature death oftheir parents, was equally active. Her gifts werepractical and artistic. She was an accomplishedseamstress and maker of vestments. She made thegreen velvet Altarcloth, bearing the words “SanctusSanctus Sanctus” which became familiar to visitors tothe church before the re-shaping of the sanctuary.

Ve sisters moved from their home in Ruby Cres. toWishaw late in life. Jean’s teaching career reached intothe 1950’s as she continued, during an extendedshortage of teachers, to respond to the calls for helpmade to her.

Katy died in 1974 at 78 years old. Jean lived to theage of 94 and died, much mourned, in 1983.

KATY AND JEANIE CLARK


Oe young Sarah Diamond

SARAH (DIAMOND) RYAN

Parish communities in urban Scotland from time totime produce the kind of lay person whose entire lifeis focused on the church. Sarah Diamond was thattype.

Living, as she did, through a period when the role ofthe lay-person in the church was less stronglyhighlighted she was content to put her time and hertalents at the disposal of her parish and to dowhatever she was asked to do.

Sarah was an accomplished seamstress and madevestments. She maintained those vestments. She madesurplices for generations of small boys who aspired tobe altar servers. She was a highly eTcient sacristan andcould even turn her hand to elaborate Soralarrangements for those occasions in the liturgicalcalendar which required decoration of the altar.

Later in her life, she became non-residenthousekeeper in the Parochial House and proved justas eTcient in that role too.

Sarah, after her Husband Hugh Ryan died, lived withher sister Mary. Nevertheless she was part of one ofthe large, extended family networks which arecharacteristic of village life. Although few of her directfamily remain in the parish many parishioners will beaware of a family connection.

JOHN BURNS

John Burns was universally known as “Colonel” (ashis father had been before him) and had been part ofour parish for his entire life. No one, least of allhimself knew the origin of the name but there wereno military connotations. He was born in 1017.

John, formerly a moulder in the Coltness Iron Works,became a miner in Kingshill Number 3 Pit. He wasa popular Rgure in the parish and a loving andattentive parent to his own large family.

Like many others he took with him from the minesa legacy of ill-health which he bore with goodhumour and considerable courage. He used hisenforced leisure time for the good of the communityin St. Brigid’s by becoming Hall Keeper. He spent hisRnal years in that role and carried it out attentively.For several years John Burns seemed ever-present inthe Hall.

John Burns died in the summer of 1987 aged 70years. Many grieved at the passing of a man who wasalways ready with a cheerful word. He left behindhim his wife and family and a steadily growingnumber of grandchildren, already active in the Parish.


FATHER ROBERT HEALEY Father Robert Healey’s stay in St. Brigid’s was a shortbut memorable one. When came to the parish after aperiod of ill-health he was already known to someparishioners from a previous stay in St. Patrick’s,Shotts.

It was soon clear that we had been given a priest ofrare gifts. He was a man of great personal piety andhis teaching from the pulpit was relevant, well -focused and clear.

He was also a sociable man. He joined in the variousactivities in the hall and enjoyed the company of thosehe found there. He was, in particular, a keen bowler.

He quickly earned the respect and aQection of theparish.

He was attentive to the needs of the school and spenttime there with the children. Indeed he showed greatinterest in children and young people generally andwas especially willing to support the work of the Pro-life group. He accompanied them on several visits toInnocents House in Bothwell. Ve picture at the topof the page shows him during one such visit. FatherHealey’s Rnal mass in the Parish will provide a lastingmemory to those who were present. He was clearly ingreat distress and equally anxious to complete thecelebration. His sermon was, especially with thebeneRt of hindsight, particularly appropriate. Hespoke of the Risen Christ. Ve mass was completedbut at great cost to Father Healey in pain.

He was shortly afterwards taken into medical care anddied the following day in Law Hospital. Few eventshave made such a deep impression upon St. Brigid’sparish.

We will always remember him as a man who placedupon himself demands that could hardly have beenfulRlled. His sense of vocation was powerful. Hisimage of the priest he wanted to be was ultimatelyunattainable.

Father Bob, we are conRdent, retains an interest in St.Brigid’s and will celebrate the centenary with us.

Father Robert Healey was born in Hamilton in 1951and after his education in Holy Cross High andStrathclyde University trained for the priesthood inValladolid, Spain. He was ordained in 1978 inCadzow and spent some time in various parishes withanother six years spent as Professor at Blairs College.

He came to St. Brigid’s in 1993 and died on 13thMarch 1994.

OUR PRIESTSWe have been led by many Rne priests. By men who had truly given uptheir lives to God. Not all of them are described here. Some left an imprintupon the parish more strongly and are remembered with greater clarity but

all played their part. Let the few represent the many.


RIGHT REV. MONSIGNORJOHN O’DONNELL

‘Monsignor O’Donnell left his mark both spirituallyand materially upon St. Brigid’s. He was Parish Priesthere between 1957 and 1967. When the new schoolin Newton Drive opened leaving a derelict buildingat Westwood Rd. it fell to him to deal with thesituation.

With characteristic energy he re-invented the oldschool as new social centre and gathered a group ofparishioners to make a conversion. He fashioned,from the hulk of the derelict building, a complex oftwo halls which would be more adequate to the needsof the parish.

Ve previous year he had welcomed the silver jubileeof the church by a complete refurbishment with newseats and a complete redesign of the interior.

He was chancellor of the Diocese but, even at locallevel, placed the parish on a Rrmer Rnancial footing.He also introduced the Scouting movement to theParish.

Monsignor John O’Donnell was born in Dumbartonin 1918. After Education at St. Patrick’s High Schooland St. Peter’s College he was ordained in 1944. Afterleaving St. Brigid’s he became Parish priest in St.Ignatius, Wishaw where he remained until hisretirement in 1984. He died on 3 March 1989.

REV FATHER HUMBLE Father James Humble, who was a Liverpool man bybirth, faced a daunting task when his Bishopappointed him as the founding father of the newparish of St. Brigid’s, Newmains in 1897.

He found a congregation beset by poverty and want.He would already have experienced the plight of theindustrial workers in his previous charge at Maryhillin Glasgow.

Squalor, ill-nourishment and industrial diseases musthave made it diTcult to introduce a spiritualdimension. But the people hungered for their churchintensely.

Father Humble was a vigourous and energetic manwho soon set to work in his new charge. He movedinto the house which stands on Westwood Road atthe gates of our present Church and by 1897 hadcompleted the building of the house which nowstands in the church grounds.

He stayed for seven years before moving on to ScotsCollege in Vallodolid, Spain, where he became Rectoreventually and where he remained until his death in1948. His portrait continues to hang there in theCollege, a lasting tribute to his work.

Father Humble was educated at Blairs and in ScotsCollege.


REV. WILLIAM O’CARROLL

As has been detailed elsewhere in this publicationFather O’Carroll will be remembered above all for hisheroic struggle to build a suitable church for theworship of God in our parish. Ve Baptismal font inthe church keeps that memory alive.

Father O’Carroll was a man whose only personalambition was to bring the souls in his charge closerto God. He was a good natured and tolerant man andis remembered not only with admiration but withaQection by those who knew him.

William O’Carroll was born in Vurles, CountyTipperary where he was educated by the ChristianBrothers. He studied for the priesthood in Scotlandand was ordained in 1902 in St. Andrew’s cathedralin Glasgow. He became our parish priest in 1916. Hisphysical strength could not match his desire to serveGod and he died prematurely in 1922.

DOCTOR CAHILL

‘Ve Doc’, as he was widely known, wore hisHomburg hat at a rakish angle. With his black coatoften Sying wide he had the air of a gunslinger of theold west - and something of the gunslinger’s attitude.He made severe demands upon the parishioners butthese demands were as nothing to the demands hemade upon himself. He was a perfectionist. No-onewho ever mounted the pulpit in St. Brigid’s outdidhim in the matter of plain speaking. But theunrelenting and often apparently harsh fervour of hispublic face when he would rage at his Sock for theirfaults was counterpointed by a generosity of spirit ina closer, more personal, setting which won over manyof those who had resented, and even feared, his anger.Some parishioners remember him for harshness; farmore remember him with aQection. None who werealive during his tenure have forgotten him. And nonedoubt that he wanted to bring them to God!

Doctor Cahill, as we knew him, went on to becomea Canon of the Diocese. He was born in Rutherglenin 1905 and after education in St. Aloysius, Glasgowand Blairs College he completed his education andtraining for the priesthood in Scots College, Rome.He achieved a Doctorate in Divinity. He died in 1990and parishioners from Newmains were among thosewho attended his funeral in Hamilton.


Oese are the ruins of Dura Kirk, above Allanton where Mass was said for itinerant Irishlabourers working on railway construction gangs during a period when no permanent

Catholic Church was available to them in the area.

1890-1900

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Toll House, First Parish House.

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THREELITTLE MAIDS In 1898, only two years afterthe parish came into being theplay “Ve Mikado” by Gilbert& Sullivan was performed byyoung people of the Parish. Veplay had been premiered onlythirteen years before inLondon.

Vese “Vree Little Maids” are:-Susan Ryan: Julia Keenan andLizzie McFadyen. In charge ofproduction was teacher Mrs.Davies.

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A curious child looks directly at the camera from his playground, the back courts of Newmains. Behind him towers the Coltness Works where he will probably seek future employment.

1900-1910

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1910-20

WAR AND PEACE

Some of our parishioners would have been in this happy procession marching in anticipationto the 6th Gala-Day in 1914. It was to be a memorable day for these children as Gala-days

had been for children before them and would be for generations of children after them.

Storm clouds were already’ forming, however, that summer.

Only 6 weeks later the “War to end wars” as it was promised to be began on August 4th.

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Oe Boys Guild has a long and varied history in the Parish. Ois group, wearing the nowunfamiliar uniform, were photographed beginning a day-trip to Lanark during the years

immediately prior to the World War of 1914-1918.

Oe Bagpipers are the brothers Nevins. As well as our oldest Parishioner, Stephen Friar (4thRow Second from left) are representatives of other family names well known in the Parish –

Diamond, Brannigan, Fitzpatrick, Oomas, Foy and Egan.

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1920-29

WAR AND PEACE

Newmains has a tradition of amateur theatre which extends to the earliest days of thecommunity above is the assembled cast of

“Ve Green Bushes” a St. Patrick’s Night production for 1924.

Many of the names are familiar around the village but most, although not all, are now gone.Oe cast included. -

Dan McGuire; Hugh Mollachan: John Brannigan: Phillip Brown, Peter Kirley, Pat Oomas:Jim Foy; Pat J Brannigan: Peter Lynch, John Diamond, Michael Kearney; Sarah Diamond;Kate Lynch; Cathy Friar, Mary Kirley: Mary Mollachan, Annie McNernay; Mary Oomas.

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Miss McCluskie with a gardening class in the 1920’s

Oe year is in the late 20’s and this youthful group of parishioners are gathered in the TollPark, site of countless struggles in football and cricket. Behind them is Park Drive and they sit

on the site of the new St Brigid’s School which would be built here in about thirty years.

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1930-40

Ois is the Baptismal font made by PatrickGallacher and now restored to an honoured

position in the church.

It bears an inscription which dedicates tothe memory of Father O’Carroll.

Plans which were already generations old came to fruition with the building of the church in1933. In style it is Neo-Gothic and it was set in spacious grounds.

For the Lrst time St. Brigid’s had a building which was devoted exclusively to the worship ofGod while the original building which had served the community well for aim act sixty years

would now serve exclusively as a school.

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Oe Funeral Procession takes the lastremains Father Stopani away from

Newmains.

Father Stopani presided over theconstruction our church. He was bornin Lerwick in 1883 and after training

for the priesthood in Blairs andValladolid he was ordained in 1911.

He served the people of St. Augustines,Coatbridge for 19 years, from 1911 -

1930.

He was Parish Priest in St. Brigid’s forthe remainder of his life.

He died in 1937.

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Men of the Parish died in various wars during the century.

'e centenary celebration will remind us to pray for them.

Ois is the grave, in Baghdad, of Jim Smith. Jim was a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He died in 1943.

Jim’s brother, Lindsay, lives on in the parish and has been one of its most faithful servants throughout his life.

“...here in this graveyard its still No Man’s Land . Oe countless white crosses stand mute in the sand..”

(Eric Bogle)

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During the post war years a Lne Church Choir was developed in St. Brigid’s. Ois picturewas taken in the early ‘Lfties at one of the many performances they gave. Oey are shownin the company of Father Michael Maher and the Parish Priest Father Oomas Kelly.

'eir number includes:

Back Row. ; T. Murphy; E.Kearney; M.Kearney; J.Curran; T.Clark; D.Muir;

Middle Row. T.Cullen; P.Donnelly; 7; T.McQuillan; J.Cullen; P.Calderhead; M.Oomas;J.Sneddon;

Front Row. P. O’Donnell; H McGuire; A.McGuire; J. McConville (Conductor).?McGuinness; J.Ryan; A.McGuinness

1940-50

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1950-60

Oe Silver Jubilee of the building of our church was celebrated in 1958. In the front row,beside the centre aisle, kneels the distinguished guest for the occasion. Frank Pakenham,

who later became Lord Longford.

Oe Altar shown behind Father McKellaig has the oaken backdrop which became sofamiliar during the Lrst 30 years of the use of the Church.

It was given to the Parish by Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral after it is said, one oftheir parishioner’s won a considerable sum of money in the Irish hospital sweepstake, and

provided a replacement.

After the introduction of the Pauline Mass with the priest facing the people it was feltthat there was insuNcient room in the sanctuary to retain it.

Many of our people have come fromother places during the century.

Ois group prepares for the departureof a child to live with family

in a new land.

Clementina Rea

THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE

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Oe visit of theKing in 1914.Oe TerminusCafe is in theCentral

background.

THE ITALIANS

In the year 1896, as the Parish of St. Brigid’s,Newmains came into being a young, unmarriedItalian man, from the village of Filingnano in theregion surrounding Cassino, arrived in the village.

Ve region was to contribute much to worldculture. Another of its sons, a young singer namedAlfredo Cocozza, changed his name to MarioLanza and conquered Concert Halls andHollywood in equal measure. (some of his relativesare to be found not far from Newmains.). Coia theArchitect of renown, was another and Danny diVito another conqueror of the world of Rlm andTV.

Vincenzo Mancini‘s fame was to be more local. Hefollowed a well established pattern and turned theItalian Sair for food and especially for Ice Creamto his advantage. He set up in business in “VeTerminus Cafe”, the building now occupied by theBank, which was then close to the tram stop. Andhe fed the sweet tooth of thousands of Scots.

Other Italian families had already. Vey’ve been inthe area in Morningside, then a thriving villagecommunity in its own right. Four main familiesprovided the foundation on which our small Italiancommunity was built. Vey were the familiesMatassa, Nardone, Jaconelli and, of courseMancini.

Vincenzo Mancini was to return temporarily to Italy,where he met his wife. But like the Irish the Italianswere here to stay. Vey had found a new andpermanent home and while they retained a fondnessfor the “old country” they played their part in thenew.

Ve Italians, moreover, were more readily acceptedby the population at large. Perhaps they were fewerin number; perhaps they were perceived as notbeing involved in the perennial controversies ofIrish politics: for whatever reason they were lessreadily engaged in inter-communal strife. But eventhey were not to be totally free from the fear andprejudice sometimes engendered by outsiders.

During World War II, when Italy was at war withthe Allies, the Italian community were treated asaliens, and sometimes as dangerous aliens. Veywere removed from coastal locations and relocatedinland. Vousands were interned. Some of theNewmains Italian Community were interned, evensome who had been born in the UK and whopresented no threat whatever. Charles Forte,multimillionaire and hotelier was interned. But atlast normality was restored and they could returnto their ice-cream parlours and Cafes.

Vey have contributed to the life and developmentof our parish and play their part in the community.A Rne symbol of their integration is the fact thatone of the descendants of Vincenzo Mancini fromFilingnano now lives in the house occupied by ourRrst Parish Priest, Father Humble on his arrival.

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1960-70

Back Row: Mr. W Young; Father Peter Gorman; Hugh Kennedy; Martin Connelly;Robert Smellie; Eddie McKerr: Andy McQuade; James Moulds; John McKerr; Mr

Hughie King;

Front Row: Ian Curran; Michael Donnelly; Willie McKendrick; Bob McKendrick: GerryBurns; Willie McQuade; Willie Young

Ve Boys Guild was a feature of adolescent life in the Parish for many years. Vis group enjoyedsuccess under the guidance of Hughie King during the middle sixties just as earlier groups had donewith the assistance of Phil DuQy and others.

With the group is the late Father Peter Gorman who continues to live in the aQections of manyparishioners.

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Oe song printed below was taught to generations of children by Miss McGarry andher contemporaries. If the parish of St. Brigid’s has an anthem, this is it.

Gliding

Gliding through the meadow, dancing o’er thegreen Runs the merry brooklet with its silversheen Day and night unceasing, swift its watersMow Speeding quickly onwards humming asthey go

Chorus

Gliding swiftly through the meadow,dancing gaily o’er the pebblesIn the sunshine or the shadowHear the murmur of the brook’s sweet song.

As it journeys onward, pass by rocks besetSpeeding quickly onwards, bounding onwardyet. As its course grows shorter, waters quicklyglide Till they reach the ocean mingling withthe tide.

Chorus

Gliding swiftly through the meadow,dancing gaily o’er the pebblesIn the sunshine or the shadowHear the murmur of the brook’s sweet song.

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On Tuesday 1st June 1982 12 bus loads of Parishioners left Newmains to join in thejoyful carnival atmosphere at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, on the occasion of the visit

of Pope John Paul II to Scotland.

Oey became part of the massive crowd that awaited him, that stood patiently forhours in corrals and that enjoyed the glorious sunshine which bathed the park on that

memorable day.

It was a day the founders of the Parish could not have foreseen and a day that thosepresent will never forget. It was also a day that was shared with us by many members

of other local churches who accompanied our parish contingent.

PAPAL VISIT 1982

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Ois is the Brochure produced for the Papal visit in 1982

Some of the group in the ‘Newmains Corral” enjoy the festive atmosphere and the glorious June sunshine.

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Calvary

Peace garden fountain

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Peace Garden

School Crest in Peace Garden

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A further distinction is added to our history this yearas we become the Rrst Catholic Parish in Scotland toreceive the award of Armorial Bearings from the LordLyon-Kingat-Arms.

Ve design of the bearings is intended to identify thebearer uniquely and unmistakably. In the case of St.Brigid’s Parish it reSects our history, our future andour ideals as a community of God.

Ve shield is green which reSects the fact that manyof the earliest parishioners had their family origins inIreland. On that green background there is a goldenChevron (an upside down “V”). Vis reminds us ofthe legend that at the time of the birth of St. Brigida great light shone uniting earth and heaven. Lightwas brought to her birthplace.

At the point of the chevron is a Fleur-de-Lys. a symbolof the Virgin Mary whom Brigid sought to imitate and

after whom she was called “Mary of the Gael”.

Two straw crosses, of a type still found in rural Irelandand known as St. Brigid’s Cross, are at the upper partof the Reld Sanking tongues of Same. Ve Samesrepresent the Same of Faith, still strong here after onehundred years, the Same kept lit by the followers ofSt. Brigid in her honour and the Sames of thefurnaces which brought our ancestors to Newmains.

At the centre of the chevron is a symbol representinga well. Like its counterpart on the Arms of theDiocese and on the arms of North Lanarkshire, ourcivil authority, this reminds us of an original well,dedicated to Our Lady which gave its name toMotherwell.

Oe motto “Vive ut semper vivas” means:-

Live that you might live forever.

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THE COAT-OF ARMS

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Ve artist responsible for producing our Coat ofArms is Clare McCrory.

Clare, daughter of John and Florence McCrory is amember of our Parish Community. She was bornin Holytown and attended school at St. Patrick’sPrimary in New Stevenson. When her familymoved she transferred to St. Aidan’s Primary Schoolwhere her mother was Assistant Head Teacher. Indue course she completed her secondary educationat St. Aidan’s High School.

After leaving school Clare worked for a time in theLocal Authority Parks Dept. in a clerical capacity.In her spare time, however she pursued an interestin calligraphy. Eventually she decided to seek anoutlet for these developing abilities and interests. In

1984 she gained entry to the Art School in Reigate,Sussex, the only UK centre oQering instruction inCalligraphy and the highly specialized art-form ofHeraldry. She studied there for two years.

On leaving her college she worked as a freelanceartist. Most recently she has become attached to theCourt of the Lord Lyon, again in a freelancecapacity.

In working on the project of the award of Armorialbearings to St. Brigid’s Clare followed a design briefprepared by the Lyon Court, after discussions withmembers of the Centenary Committee. Clare,herself, participated in these discussions and guidedthe Committee through the process.

CLARE McCRORY

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Parish priests of St. Brigid’s

Diocese of Glasgow:-

1896 -1903 Rev. James Humble

1903 - 1916 Rev. James Bird

1916 - 1921 Rev William O’Carroll

1921 - 1924 Rev. Hugh McDonald

1924 - 1929 Rev. John A. Lyons

1929 - 1930 Rev. Joseph Courtney

1930 - 1937 Rev. William Stopani

1937 - 1940 Rev. John F. O’Donnell

1940- 1941 Rev. John Mcintyre

1941 -1945 Rev. William McGhee

1947 Parish becomes part of the newDiocese of Motherwell

1945 - 1952 Rev. Vomas Kelly

1952 - 1957 Rev. Hugh Cahill D.D.

1957- 1967 Rev. John O’Donnell

1967 - 1976 Rev. Angus McKellaig

1976 - 1985 Rev. Vomas C. Morris

1985 - 1996 Rev. John W. Boyle 1996 -Rev.Joseph Brannigan

Assistant priests of St. Brigid‘s

Diocese of Glasgow:-

1935 - 1936 Rev. Daniel Logue

1936 - 1937 Rev. Joseph O’Hagan

1947 Parish becomes part of the newDiocese of Motherwell

1949 Rev. William Bradley

1950 Rev. Vomas Hickey

1950 Rev. Pietro Noaro SX

1950 - 1953 Rev. Michael B. Maher

1953 - 1954 Rev. Denis Hoban

1954 - 1965 Rev. John B. Healy

1965 - 1968 Rev. Peter Gorman

1968 - 1969 Rev. John Ward

1969 - 1973 Rev. Humphrey O’Mahony

1973 - 1983 Rev. Edward Glackin

1976 - 1976 Rev. Damien Murphy

1985 - 1988 Rev. John Kelly

1988 - 1992 Rev. John Doherty

1992 - 1993 Rev. John McMurray

1993 - 1994 Rev. Robert Healy

1994 - 1995 Rev. Colin Hughes

1995 - 1996 Rev. James Vomson

1996 - 1996 Rev. James Duddy

Pastoral Assistant

1997 Sister Maria Goretti


Rev Joseph Healy

Father Healy was born in Newmains in 1904. Hismother was a member of the Vomas family whichhad and continues to have extensive links andbranches in Newmains. Joseph’s parents moved toLochgelly in Fife and later to the USA. At the age of14 he went to Blairs College where he remained until1923.

He continued his training for the priesthood in ScotsCollege, Rome. He was a talented sportsman with aspecial interest in football. During his studies herepresented his college at the game where hisopponents were often the professionals of AS Romathe local club which took an interest in the college.

During his spell in Rome he became Master ofCeremonies to the Papal Establishment, being apersonal assistant to Pope Pius Xl at the Canonizationof St. Teresa. He was a distinguished scholar. He tooka Doctorate (in Divinity) from the PontiRcalUniversity and later completed his Masters degree.Strangely this record of achievement was to provesomething of a handicap to him. Later, when invitedby his Bishop to undertake further studies he had towork hard to persuade the Diocesan authorities thathis vocation was a pastoral one and that his one wishwas to serve God’s people as their Parish priest.

His ordination was originally directed towards theDiocese of New York and he served there for a short

time as assistant priest in Long Island. He returnedhome, however, and the remainder of his life wasspent in the service of the Diocese of St. Andrew’s andEdinburgh.

His Rnal appointment came when he wasCanonically installed as Parish Priest in East Calder.Vere he stayed for 42 years.

In that community he was highly regarded by hisSock. He believed in doing good by stealth. Whenproblems arose for them he attempted to solve themand did so with the maximum of discretion.

Nevertheless, his wisdom and learning served ScottishCatholics beyond the bounds of East Calder. He wasa close and trusted friend of Lord and Lady Wheatleyand before that of Lord Wheatley’s father, JohnWheatley, an inSuential opinion former in the earlydays of the Labour Party in Scotland.

One parishioner observes that his funeral will serveas his Rnest tribute. It was attended by a packedcongregation, many of whom had good reason to begrateful for Father Healy for assistances he had givento them in their time of need. Ve poor and thepowerless came; but so too did the powerful and wellknown. To Father Joseph Healy all of God’s childrenwere equal and they responded equally to him.

He died in 1979, following his vocation and visionfor the church to the end of his life.

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Some of our parishioners have o&ered their lives to God in the priesthood and

religious life.

'ese are some examples.

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MARY FRIAR

Mary Friar was born Musselburgh in 1907 but, atone year old, came with her family to Newmains. Sheattended Newmains R.C. School.

On leaving school she helped her sisters Rrst withdressmaking (Margaret) and later with baking(Catherine). She entered the Carmelite convent at 29years of age on the feast of St. Teresa of Avila, livingfor most of her life in their house in Langside whereshe became an extern, being one of those few sisterswho kept contact with the outside world on behalfof the community.

Sister Agnes of Jesus was a member of the order forwell over half a Century. She died in their house atDysart, Kirkcaldy on 11 May 1995 at the age of 88years.

Many relatives survive her, one of whom (seeopposite) became a member of the Helpers of theHoly Souls.

MARY KELLY

Mary Kelly was born in Morningside, nearNewmains, in 1934. She was educated at St. Brigid’sP School and at Elmwood Convent School,Bothwell.

After school she worked for Newmains andCambusnethan Co-operative Society and gave herspare time generously to the children of the Parish.When Monsignor O’Donnell introduced thescouting movement Mary became Akela in the WolfCubs, as they were then known.

She entered the Helpers of the Holy Souls in 1960,taking the name Sister Elizabeth Mary. She made herRrst vows in 1963.

Sister Elizabeth Mary has been engaged in Socialwork in London, St. Anne’s, Lancashire andEdinburgh. She is, at present working in Huyton,Liverpool. Her brother, John, remains a very activemember of our Parish.

Sister Elizabeth Mary with her brother John and Sister in Law Mary.


MARY JOSEPHINEMcALEAVY

Mary Josephine was one of seven children born toVomas and Catherine McAleavy. She was born in1929 and educated locally.

In 1950 at the age of 21 she entered the Helpers ofthe Holy Souls as a novice in their house in SouthShields. Nine years later she made Rnal vows in theConvent on Bonkle Road in the presence of BishopScanlon.

Now known as Sister Ninian she went to the Helpersof the Holy Souls Convent at St. Anne’s-on-Sea.

She became a qualiRed social worker and her workfor God and his Church was carried out in some ofthe most needy communities in the UK. She workedin the poorest areas of London, Glasgow andEdinburgh.

Sister Ninian died in London, surrounded by hercommunity and her family, in 1988.

TERESA O’ROURKE

Teresa O’Rourke was born in Newmains in 1901, amember of a family once well-known in the villagebut now widely dispersed. She attended the localschool.

Her brother, John O’Rourke, later became a teacherthere.

She joined the Little Sisters of the Poor, After makingher initial Profession in France being Rrst of all intheir Glasgow House and later in Dublin. As amember of that Order, one dedicated to poverty andprayer, she was given the name Sister Pascaline of St.Bruno.

Tuberculosis was, earlier in this century, a major andcommon threat to health. Sister Pascalin contractedTB and, in an eQort to give her the beneRts of a betteratmosphere, her order sent her to Perpignan inFrance.

Sadly, this was to no avail and she died in 1932 Heraunt, Brigid McGarry had been at her bedside untilshortly before her death. She is buried in a vault inPerpignan.


MARY WELSH

Mary Welsh was born in 1891 in Newmains andbegan her education in the school.

She trained as a teacher at Dowanhill College andqualiRed in 1913, completing her probationaryperiod in the summer of 1915. Vis having beenachieved she began to consider the direction her lifewas to take and three years later she joined the Sistersof Notre Dame, the order which had trained her as ateacher.

Her Rnal vows were taken in 1927 and she continuedwith her teaching work while a member of the order.She served in Northampton and Norwich beforebecoming head Teacher in St. Helen’s, where sheremained until her retiral in 1956. She is rememberedby her colleagues as a devoted and talented educatorand a good and faithful friend and colleague.

Her retiral was to the Convent in Dumbarton whereshe remained until her death in 1981.

AGNES FARRELL Agnes Farrell who was born in 1914, attended St.Brigid’s School and Elmwood Convent.

Agnes was an accomplished Highland dancer and awinner of the Daily Record medal for dancing.Indeed, at the age of 18 she was in Germanyperforming as a dancer when her mother died. Soonafter, her interest in dancing took second place to thecall to give her life to God.

She became a novice in the Helpers of the Holy Soulsin South Shields in 1939. In 1940 an illness causeddeafness and it was thought that she would be unableto cope with the demands made upon her. She wassent home. But the call to religious life was powerfuland she persisted with her request to be accepted.And accepted she was. She made her Rrst vows threeyears later in 1942.

She was a community worker for a time in France aswell as in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Later she workedin a factory to generate income for her convent. Laterstill she was pastoral assistant to Father Fudge inCentral London and, in addition, became a catechistthere. Sister Agnes Farrell died in 1994. Her extendedfamily remain in Newmains.

Sister Agnes with her sister; also a parishioner of Newmains


PATRICK LEONARD

Patrick spent some ten years with the FrenchBenedictine Order before a serious illness required hisreturn home.

He was born in 1916 in St. Brigid’s, went to St.Brigid’s School and at the age of 17 years entered theorder. He was a member of the community at St.Michaels Abbey. Farnborough during his stay exceptfor one year spent at Solem in France. His physicalcondition at last made the rigours of the communitylife impossible for him and he returned home in1943.

For the remainder of his life he adhered, as far as waspossible, to the vocation he had accepted. Althoughphysically separated from his community hehonoured their ideals and followed their rule.

Pat died in 1975 after living for many years in thehome of his sister Catherine and her husband PatMuldoon. Catherine remains a parishioner.

THOMAS McARDLE

Vomas McArdle was born in 1934, one of the largefamily of Dan and Isabel McCardle.

While a pupil at St. Brigid’s School he wasaQectionately regarded by his teachers and his peersfor his mischievous sense of fun.

He elected to join the Redemptorist Order as aBrother and did so in 1960, making his RnalProfession of Vows in 1964. As a member of theRedemptorists he took the name Brother Majella. Hiswork with the Order was in their house at Kinnoullin Perthshire where he undertook a variety of dutiesbut became something of a specialist cook.

Brother Majella had a Rne and unusual tenor voicewhich was heard and admired on several occasions inNewmains, in our church and hall.

At a relatively early age his health deteriorated and in1990, at the age of 56 years, he died.


FATHER ALEX EASTON

Father Alex is a White Father currently working inUganda. He was born in 1932 to John Easton, a coal-miner from Shotts and his wife Elizabeth. He was anonly child. He was educated at St. Brigid’s School buthis family moved to Glenboig while he was still aschoolboy.

At the age of 12 Alex Easton went to the Juniorseminary organized by the White Fathers at St.Boswells. After remaining two years there heprogressed to Bishop’s Waltham College nearSouthampton.

Having successfully completed this Rrst phase of hisstudies he was brought back to Scotland to studytheology and philosophy at Monteviot near Jedburghwhere he was ordained in 1956.

Vat same year he went to the White Fathers missionin Uganda where he has remained ever since exceptfor one or two visits home. His most recent was lastyear when he celebrated the 40th Anniversary of hisordination

A colleague in the White Fathers has described himthus: Father “Alex is quiet man, undemanding, whojust wants to get on with the work he was ordainedto do.”

FATHER GERALDMcENHILL

Father McEnhill was born in Newmains in 1926 andeducated at our own school and later at Our Lady’sHigh School in Motherwell. He was one of threechildren born to Mr and Mrs. Jack McEnhill. Hisbrother, Jack, now dead, became a Physicist in theNuclear industry; his sister Josephine lives inEdinburgh. In 1947, at the age of 21, he entered theSociety of Jesus being educated at Heythrop College.He was ordained in the Convent of the Helpers ofthe Holy Souls in Newmains in 1957 and took hisRnal vows in the Order in 1960.

Father McEnhill grew up in Stewart Crescentsurrounded by contemporaries who remainprominent in the life of the Parish, Willie and AgnesBurns, Jim Hinds and others now dispersed ordeceased.


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St Patrick’s Shotts Brass Band at the Parish Centre

St Patrick’s Shotts Brass Band at the Parish Centre

140th Celebrations

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Parishioners applauding the brass band

M

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Parishioners applauding the brass band

Motherwell Diocesan Choir

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Motherwell Diocesan ChoirParish Chior 2012

Parish Centre catering group

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Congregation in the parish centre after recitalRCIA Group

Anniversary Committee

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140years1871 2011

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