The primate reminded those present that �Mullabawn is a very young parish, for the division between Dromintee and Forkhill goes back only to 1837. When the last parish priest died in that year, the parish was split between two curates, and Father Hugh Mulligan became PP of Mullabawn. When he died in 1878, he had spent 12 years as a curate and 41 years as parish priest, - a record unlikely ever to be surpassed!�

�140 years ago, Fr Mulligan erected this church, dedicated to Our Lady. He was here during the famine, when the potato crop failed and led to widespread starvation, a considerable number of evictions, and a series of attacks on landlords and their agents. He saw several of his flock, in dire straits, follow the local Church of Ireland curate to the Protestant church. And he was without a Catholic school for many years.�

�Mullabawn was always noted for the close links between priests and people, forged during the persecution of the Penal Times. At the end of the 18th century, the `boys of Mullabawn` tried to defend the parish priest, Fr Collins. And it was in an effort to dislodge them, that Shanroe Barracks was built in 1795. The Bard of Armagh, Bishop Patrick Donnelly, was believed to have stayed at the house of Fr John McParland in Lathbirget, at the foot of Slieve Gullion. It took a sergeant and 12 soldiers to get him out of Mullabawn.

�St Oliver Plunkett also sought refuse in this area, during the severe winter of 1673/1674. In a letter to Rome, he wrote: `The house where I am staying is made of straw, and is thatched so badly that we can see the stars when we are in bed, - even the slightest shower sprinkles over our pillows. But we are determined to die from hunger and cold, rather than desert our flock.�

At nearby Aughanduff, a new church, dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, was blessed and opened by the late Cardinal Dalton in 1957. He stated: �Instead of peace among nations, we have an armed truce, made more terrible by the weapons that man�s ingenuity has discovered in modern times.�

And Belleeks-born Bishop of Clogher, Dr O�Callaghan told the congregation: �In the past, the people of Forkhill parish have been marked out for special persecution, but were always noted for steadfast devotion to their faith. The sacrifices made by the people have been great, and this day is an occasion for great rejoicing. We have seen the hopes and dreams of many generations realised.

�For the first time in centuries, you have a church here. Your ancestors had to endure great suffering and persecution, in order to preserve the faith. In a world torn with strife, hatred and persecution, you in this country parish have pointed the true way to peace,� said the bishop.

The new sacred edifice was in sharp contrast to the old schoolhouse, where Mass was celebrated on Sundays. The sight of a priest, celebrating the Holy Sacrifice on a teacher�s table, while people knelt on school desks, was remarkable for a young Newry boy, on holiday at the farmhouse of his aunt, Mary Anne Hearty in Dorsey. He was accustomed to the granite grandeur and soaring splendour of the cathedral in his hometown.

Meanwhile, that Gaelgeoir and GAA president, Padraig MacNamee, was born at Carrickasticken. He learned the Irish language as he walked through the fields with his grandfather. At Dromintee school, he was advised by a teacher to visit the old people in the district, recording their stories, poems, prayers and sayings in Irish.

Among the native speakers at that time were Mary McGuigan, Thomas Kerley, Mary Coulter, Pat Black, Mary Nugent, Mick McCrink, Mrs Byrne and Margaret Kelly, grand-aunt of James Coulter. Mrs Kelly gave young MacNamee great assistance, as did the local curate Dr John Loughran, a classical scholar and famous preacher in Irish. Later, Padraig would walk to Dundalk, in order to attend Irish classes at the Technical School.

A chance encounter with the legendary Fr Loughran O Muiri, while both were cycling to Omeath, led to a close friendship with the foremost scholar. He later inspired a major revival in the Irish language in Ulster, while on the staff of the Irish College at Omeath, where Padraig Pearse had been a teacher.

When the college was transferred to Rannafast in Donegal, Padraig McNamee joined the staff, and was later appointed President, a post he retained until his death in 1975. Chosen as secretary of Comhaltas Uladh in 1932, he held that position until 1956, later President until 1964. Elected President of the GAA in 1938, he remained in office until 1943.

At the erection of a monument to the local Gaelic poet, O Doirnin, at Urney graveyard in 1969, Padraig McNamee pointed to the spot, a short distance away, where he used to sit at the fireside of native speaker, Margaret Kelly.

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