Fairyhouse of the faithful

More than 10,000 people from all over Ireland and the world flocked to Fairyhouse on Friday for a major Christian festival hosted by the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Ireland. The worshippers, most of whom were Africans, started arriving early on Friday and young and old congregated for a colourful, joyful celebration with payers and music. Those who came to the Holy Ghost Service arrived from all over Ireland - most were originally from Nigeria or other African nations. However worshippers had travelled to the event from the UK and Germany. The church"s general overseer, Pastor Enoch Adebaye, travelled from Nigeria for the service. Also ministering on the night was Dr James McConnell of Metropolitan Tabernacle, Belfast, Pastor Tunde Adebayo Oke, national pastor and country coordinator in Ireland. Highlights of the event included Irish traditional music by Martin Dononohe of the Nyah Festival Arts Group from Cavan, Irish maiden dancers from Navan and Redemption Youth Force - a dedicated programme for youth. There was plenty of gospel music and there were emotional scenes as friends who hadn"t seen each other for some time, met up again. The theme of the event was Behold The Lamb.Pastor Enoch Adeboye, in his message to the congregation said that Jesus was the Lamb of God and whoever beholds the Lamb would always experience supernatural maninfestation. Despite the huge turn out, there were no reports of any problems. The Redeemed Christian Church of God is an evangelical Church established in 1952. The Church started in Ireland 10 years ago with one parish and now has 66 parishes accross the nation including on in Navan where the leader is Pastor Tai Makinde. The Navan church is based in the Balmoral estate. According to spokesman, Pastor John Eniola, their purpose is to join forces with other Christian groups towards revival in this great nation. Ratoath councillor, Nick Killian, said it was a lovely event and felt it was a great use of Fairyhouse. 'It shows that Fairyhouse is an ideal venue for this kind of event with plenty of carparking facilities close to Dublin and the main motorways. 'I would like to see more events like this here,' he said.