10th April, 2024 - Kilbride Parish Church Ladies’ Group Talk on the Murder of Patricia Curran

The dreadful murder of Patricia Curran, a young student, in 1952, shocked the community not only where she lived in Jordanstown, but across the whole of the country. Patricia was the daughter of a high court judge and was studying at Queen’s University, Belfast and her body was found in the large garden of her own home. It was believed that her murderer was a young man from the nearby R.A.F. base called Iain Hay Gordon and he was subsequently convicted of the murder but then discrepancies emerged in the evidence and questions began to be raised about the case and many years later it was realised that he had been wrongly convicted and his conviction was overturned. The person who actually did murder Patricia was never found and convicted, and to this day many theories abound as to who actually killed her. Stephen Cameron, a researcher and author of a number of books, has researched this case extensively and he came to the Parish hall this evening to present his findings and speculate on who the actual killer was. He noted that in the course of his research he came up against many obstacles regarding access to records, indeed he said he was denied access to many key documents relating to the case. It was a fascinating talk and the Parish Hall was full to capacity, even though there had been only seventy tickets sold in advance, with many turning up to pay at the door. Clearing this mysterious case still captures the public’s imagination to this day.

Refreshments were served immediately after the talk.

Stephen is pictured above with Joan Lutton, Chairperson of the Ladies’ Group.

6th April, 2024 - Storm Kathleen

Storm “Kathleen” hit Ireland hard over the weekend causing widespread damage across Ireland and parts of Scotland. Kilbride didn’t escape as the ranch fence near the Parish Hall and beside the road was completely flattened by the strong winds. Clearly the years have taken a toll on the fence posts as it was very evident that they had all rotted just below ground level and the strong wind resulted in the fence falling over. Thankfully no other damage was caused to church buildings.

24th March, 2024 - Palm Sunday

This morning our celebrations for Palm Sunday began in the Parish Hall as the choir and congregation processed up to the church for our service of Morning Prayer. The procession was headed once again by Annie the donkey symbolising Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in the days before his trial and crucifixion. Annie was led by her handler, Kerry, and as always was very quiet and placid as she walked up the path and into the church completely unaffected by the music or the people. The children in the congregation had a chance to stand beside her and stroke her head.

19th March, 2024 - Badminton Group

The church badminton group meets every Tuesday evening in the Parish Hall and is always happy to welcome new members. If anyone would like to play, even if you haven’t played before, feel free to drop in between 8:00 and 10:00pm. You will be made very welcome. The group will be meeting every Tuesday evening until the end of April.

19th March, 2024 - Watchmen Meeting

Edward Montgomery M.B.E., D.L., a parishioner in Kilbride, is an Honourable member of the Irish Society and had served as the society's representative and as charity manager in Northern Ireland since 1996. He retired from the position just a few weeks ago, on 29th February, and he very kindly agreed to give a talk on the Honourable The Irish Society to the church’s Watchmen group. In an extremely interesting and informative presentation he took everyone back to the origins of the society in the early 17th century during the time of the Plantation of Ulster. He explained the society’s involvement in the plantation and how major investment in mainly the northwest of what is now Northern Ireland took place, mainly in the city and the county of Londonderry, and how the society evolved over the centuries until the present day. He went on to describe the work of the society today and its charitable role in many aspects of our society, with many grants being given annually in support of a wide and varied range of activities. Everyone who came to Edward’s talk found the subject fascinating and many were able to buy a book on the society’s history at the end, when Edward was able to chat with everyone over a cup of tea.

12th March, 2024 - Kilbride Parish Church Ladies’ Group

The ladies were pleased to welcome Geoff Baird along this evening for a cookery demonstration in the Parish Room. Geoff is a qualified chef and on the menu for this evening was a meal that everyone enjoys from time to time - fish and chips! Geoff went back to basics explaining what is needed to get the genuine chip shop taste or better. He described how to prepare the batter for the fish and how to cook it and the chips to perfection. The ladies were expecting to be able to taste a few samples but Geoff prepared enough so that everyone almost had a full meal to enjoy. Geoff’s demonstration was excellent and the food was delicious as was evident by the clean plates at the end.

4th March, 2024 - The Kilbride Herald

The latest edition of The Kilbride Herald is now available to read online by following this link - The Kilbride Herald

Hard copies are also available in the church.

3rd March, 2024 - Holy Baptism

During this morning’s service with Holy Communion our rector, Rev. John McClure, performed his second baptism in St Bride’s as a baby girl was presented for baptism by her parents, Stephen and Felicity Foster, together with her godparents Claire Cinnamon and Matthew Kirby. She was baptised Olivia Rose Claire Foster.

2nd March, 2024 - Litter-Pick at North Woodburn Reservoir

Following the release of the injured swan it was noted how much litter was scattered around the north Woodburn reservoir and a decision was made to return to it to tidy the area up. A team of seven hardy individuals braved the cold weather and the occasional shower of rain and sleet and spent a few hours walking round the reservoir and the surrounding area picking up all manner of litter from beer cans, bottles and discarded fishing line to a croc (not the reptilian variety!) and a discarded collapsible picnic chair! There was also a lot of dog dirt lying around on the paths and the grass areas but it had to stay. Some ‘responsible’ dog owners had made life easier by putting their pets’ deposits in little bags and they had left them on the grass for collection! By the time the litter pickers had finished 14 bin-bags had been filled with rubbish leaving the area much tidier. Sadly our society is such that no doubt in a few weeks the litter will be back. Still it was a very worthwhile exercise and removed a lot of potentially harmful material from the area. Thanks must go to everyone who took part and to Mid & East Antrim Borough Council for providing pickers and some bags.

14th February, 2024 - Kilbride Parish Church Ladies Group Meeting

14th February, 2023 - Swan Release

The swan that had unfortunately collided with the overhead electricity conductors beside the church car park on 4th February was taken from Clare Veterinary Practice to a specialist wild animal and bird family run by the USPCA in Newry and staff there continued its treatment until they were satisfied that it was well enough to be released. They brought it to the north Woodburn reservoir just outside Carrickfergus and released it successfully on St Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t known where the bird originally came from but if a bird like a swan is released into somewhere other than its original ‘home’ with other swans there is a good chance that it will be driven off as they are very territorial and will drive off intruders. This reservoir was a safe place for it to be released knowing that it would be return to its own normal habitat. On a visit to the reservoir two days later not surprisingly the swan had disappeared, no doubt back ‘home’ in familiar surroundings and maybe even its mate. It was noted that the area around the reservoir was a mess with litter so the wheels were set in motion for a litter-pick.

4th February, 2024 - An Unexpected Visitor

Wardens and choir members arriving at church early this morning were surprised to see a swan sitting on the car park. Clearly this was very unusual behaviour for this beautiful bird so on carefully approaching it blood was noticed on its beak and side. It stood up with some difficulty and sat down again on the grass so it was obviously hurt in some way. A number of Northern Ireland Electricity Networks linesmen had also arrived in the car park checking out a reported fault and it didn’t take long to realise that the two events were connected. On checking the electrical installation at the bottom of the church car park the linesmen discovered that there was a blown fuse on the overhead line feeding the nearby houses. The swan had probably collided with the conductors, shorting them together and blowing the fuse, before crash landing on the car park. A couple of phone calls were made and within 15 minutes a vet from Clare Veterinary Practice in Ballyclare arrived and, with the assistance of the NIE Networks linesmen, the bird was very gently prepared for transport to the surgery in Ballyclare. There the vet gave the swan a thorough examination and some antibiotics and moved it to an enclosure to recover. No major injuries were found thankfully and hopefully it should be fit to be released again in a day or two. Sincere thanks must go to everyone who helped with this rescue.

Look out for an update soon.

14th January, 2024 - Confirmation Service

This morning the Bishop of Connor, Rt Rev. George Davison, visited St Bride’s to officiate at a confirmation service. There were four candidates prepared for their confirmation and family and friends of each were welcomed to the church for this very special day in each candidate’s life. The Bishop put each of them at their ease as he guided them through this very important service. He explained the significance of confirmation as they themselves confirm the promises made on their behalf when they were baptised. Following the service the Bishop very kindly joined each family for a photograph before joining the rest of the congregation for refreshments in the Parish Hall where he was able to mingle with parishioners. He presented a Bible to each of the candidates, on behalf of the Parish, as an appropriate gift to mark the occasion.

 14th January, 2024 - The Kilbride Herald

The January/February edition of the Kilbride Herald is available to read by following this link - Kilbride Herald