Ballydehob will bloom with church floral display

ST Matthias COI Church in Ballydehob will be ablaze with colour this weekend when it hosts a floral festival under the theme ‘Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness'.

The celebration will mark the reopening of the church following extensive repairs to the roof and internal structures carried out over the past few months.

 Open 11am-7pm on Saturday and Sunday, August 19th and 20th, the festival will mirror a similar event held 13 years ago to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the church.

 Expected to feature some 30 displays by clubs and individuals, it is being organised by parishioners Iris Sweetnam and Betty Hingston, with the support of others, and will have the additional purpose of raising funds through voluntary contributions towards repaying the cost of the work involved.

 The Festival will involve flower and garden clubs from across the county, with the particular involvement of clubs from the West Cork area, and some of whose entries are expected to reflect the theme of the event.

 Working with the organisers will be parishioners and members of the Ballydehob community who will assist as guides in and around the church, and in preparing refreshments to be served throughout both days in the adjoining St. Matthias NS.

 Ballydehob Union Rector, Rev. McCann said:  ‘We are especially blessed to live amongst such a skilled and creative community, whose talents and inventiveness are evident in the building works and in the initiative to mark their completion in such an imaginative way.'

 One of two churches within the Ballydehob Union – the other being St Matthews Church in Aughadown – St Matthias Church was opened in 1829 on a site adjacent to the village on the road to Durrus. 

 A feature of the building is its organ, built in 1923, and rebuilt in 2006. 

The event will conclude with a service being held in the church at 8pm on Sunday, August 20th.