St Columba's Church, Long Tower

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St Columba's Church Long Tower is a Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Derry. It is located in the heart of the city of Derry in Northern Ireland.

The present church is built on the site of Roman Catholic worship which goes back as far as the 12th century. The current Long Tower Church began life in 1783 in a much smaller scale than seen today. Father John Lynch, a parish priest in Derry started action to raise funds for building the Long Tower Church and he received finance not just from Roman Catholics but also Protestant people in Derry at the time. The church was opened in 1788.

[edit] Refurbishments of the Church

The church was extended and refurbished in 1810 with the introduction of gallery seating, nave and the changing of the Altar to the northern side of the church. The High Altar was constructed with marble and supported by four pillars. The four pillars were first made of wood put proved to be not strong enough to hold the large and heavy marble altar and so the pillars were changed to be made out of marble. The layout of the church from 1810 onwards has remained largely unaltered. However in 1908 a full refurbishment of the Long Tower took place which included addition of new stained glass windows, statues, shrines, baptismal font and the reposition of the High Altar and the introduction of a new sacristy.

The church's refurbishment was completed in 1909 and the church was then officially opened to the general public.

[edit] The Long Tower Today

Many parishioners in Derry City feel that the Long Tower is the home of Catholicism in Derry. Even though the construction of St Eugene's Cathedral in 1873 as the mother church of the diocese didn't differ people's feelings for the Long Tower. The beautiful interior which could match any church in Rome has remained unaltered to this very day.

When Vatican II changes in liturgy occurred in 1962/1964 the Long Tower priests and parishioners did not want to change the layout too much. In 1964 a temporary wooden altar was constructed and installed in the sanctuary to accommodate mass being said facing the people. In 1979 the wooden altar was taken out and a new marble altar along with a new marble lectern and celebrants ambo were installed. The installation was minor to ensure the remainder of the church stayed. When other churches at this time were removing altar rails, High Altars, confessional boxes etc, the Long Tower did not. Even to this day the church has still retained the old traditional confessional boxes.

Today the church is home to a parish population of nearly 8,000. The church overlooks the Catholic Bogside of Derry which has seen many instances of violence (Bloody Sunday of 1972), but this church ensures that people find peace and quiet there no matter what is going on outside the church grounds. The parish today is served by two priests — Father Roland Colhoun Adm and Father Gerard Mongan cc.