Newry congregation ‘overjoyed’ as bombed church rises again

A Northern Ireland church has risen again after being badly damaged in a dissident republican explosion. 

Stained glass was shattered and members of a sports club narrowly escaped injury when a car bomb ripped through the centre of Newry.

Almost a year to the day after the attack, Downshire Road Presbyterian Church celebrated its reopening at a special service Sunday.

Members of the congregation were devastated when the 170-year-old church was damaged in the explosion, leaving windows broken and parts of the church premises destroyed. 

But after nearly £350,000 worth of repairs and restoration work, the church has just reopened for its first Sunday service. 

The Rev Brian Colvin, minister at Downshire Road, said the congregation were “overjoyed” to be able to worship at the church once again. 

“The bomb was such a shock to the whole community,” he said. “At the time we were devastated by the damage and there was a lot of sadness and disbelief. 

“Everyone thought we had left those days behind and right across the city there was a lot of anger and frustration.

“But very quickly those feelings were channelled into repair and rebuilding at the church.”

When the device exploded outside Newry’s courthouse building on February 22, 2010, the impact caused structural damage to buildings and destroyed an annex to the church.

Stained glass windows, including one of particular value to commemorate the First World War, were shattered during the blast.

Police said the car bomb contained 115kg of explosives, making it the largest to have been detonated in Northern Ireland in more than a decade.

Mr Colvin said repairing Downshire Road church had taken a lot of hard work and determination from members of the community. 

“It was a big, big job — especially restoring the stained glass,” he said.

“We had to part-demolish a side building and then rebuild that, and there was a huge redesign involved.

“We relied a lot on a local builder who came to help out immediately and got us into the church to worship on the first Sunday after the bomb.”

Since the blast, the congregation has been worshipping in the church hall and using a sister church at nearby Sandys Street, Newry. 

Last weekend’s service celebrated a return to normal for church members, and included a special sermon by the Rev Dr Russell Birney, a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church. 

Mr Colvin said the ceremony was a “chance to draw a line under a challenging and testing year”.

He added: “While the exile of the last year has caused us some problems and for many a lot of hard work, I think we have been strongly reminded of our dependence on God. It has brought us closer together as a fellowship and, through the different and more informal surroundings of our church hall, introduced us to some different styles of worship. There is a lot of excitement at returning home to our place of worship and our focus now is on moving forward.”

Background

A car bomb exploded outside Newry’s courthouse in New Street at 10pm on February 22, 2010. 

There were phone warnings to local businesses 17 minutes earlier. 

Residents were still being escorted out of the area and police said it was a “miracle” nobody was hurt or killed. 

The blast damaged the courthouse and nearby buildings. 

Dissident republicans were blamed for the 115kg bomb, said to be the largest of its kind to explode here in over a decade.

 

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