St Mary’s Secondary School links school and parish

St. Mary’s Secondary School TYB Religion Class is at present doing a project on prayer. The class are working with Bernadette O’Connor, Mallow Parish Youth Minister, in an attempt to connect the school with parish.

As part of this project the class travelled to various religious sites in the surrounding Mallow area, accompanied by religion teacher Claire O’Farrell, Bernadette O’Connor and Sharon Doody, a volunteer with the Cloyne Diocesan Youth Service. Firstly they travelled to Teampallin, Kilquane, Mourneabbey where they met Mr. Jerome Lenihan on whose land the site is located. He gave a history of this ancient church ruin and un-baptised children’s burial site. They then visited and prayed at St. John the Baptist Well in Analeentha. Following this they visited St. Abbeyswell in Gortroe and met Ms. Pat Crowley who gave a concise history of the well. In the afternoon they visited Carraig an Aifreann in Killavullen to see the site where our ancestors prayed in penal times. The day was completed with a visit to the famine burial site on the grounds of Mallow General Hospital. TYB religion class are hoping to compile favourite prayers and reflections of local personalities in our parishes, and to publish a book of this work including sketches of significant places of worship and pilgrimage in our parishes.