Bishop’s intervention in parish hall sale row is welcomed

The Longwood Community Group has welcomed news that Bishop Michael Smith has nominated two representatives to meet local groups on his behalf to discuss the planned sale of the local parish hall and former national school.

Tensions have been high in the village in recent months since it was announced that both the parish hall and the former national school were being sold off to go towards the cost of renovation St Mary's Church in Longwood.
A campaign was formed following a public meeting to try to save the community buildings and in last week's Meath Chronicle, the Longwood Community Group appealed for dialogue with the church to try to resolve the situation.
At Longwood and Killyon Confirmation on Wednesday of last week, Bishop Smith announced that he had asked two representatives to meet local groups on his behalf in relation to the parish hall in Longwood. It has been confirmed that this meeting will take place in the parish centre in Trim on Monday, 30th April and that the two representatives will be Monsignor Sean Heaney and Barry Lysaght.
Welcoming the breakthrough, Claire Rowley PRO of Longwood Community Group said:"We are delighted that the church has announced that two members of the St Finian’s Trust will be meeting with the group to resolve this situation. This is all we have been asking for since our meeting on 5th February."  They have also welcomed the statement from the church that the old school will only be sold to a buyer who will continue to use it as a preschool.
"On behalf of the community group we thank you for your support and we ask for calm to allow the church and community to find a solution," the group said on its facebook page on Monday night.
Catherine McCooey, secretary said: "We are delighted to take this next step forward. It is great contact is being made. Hopefully it will all go in the right direction now." 
At the end of January, it was announced that St Finian's Diocesan Trust would be putting both buildings up for sale, causing deep upset in the community. A public meeting was held on 5th February and a campaign was established to try to keep these buildings in the community. The parish hall is used by the local scouts, badminton club, and a hip hop dance group.

 

In his most recent statement, Parish priest Fr Michael Kilmartin outlined that the trust want the parish hall and old school to be saved for the community but are no longer in a position to oversee the legal responsibilities of ownership with due diligence, adding that the properties would only be sold for childcare and community use.
"The decision to sell parish properties is not in any way motivated by commercial interests. The guide price on the hall is Euro 40,000 which reflects both the condition of the hall and the desire to keep it in local ownership," he added.
Fr Kilmartin also said they are anxious to proceed with an agreement with a childcare provider in order to make sure that a provider will be in a place to offer this service to families when the existing arrangement comes to an end.