Your Holy Name Story #2
From December 2018 to May 2019 we've been searching once again for personal memories, stories and photos of the history and heritage of the Holy Name Church. Building upon the success of the first stage of this project, which you can explore here, we are grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for facilitating this next phase in our exploration of the heritage of the Holy Name Church.
For the past six months, we've been speaking to people about their personal memories and stories of the Church and the Chaplaincy, and on this page you can explore some of those personal stories, photographs and memories, so that you too can see and understand better the rich heritage of the Holy Name Church, and the important role that it played in many people's lives and in the local community.
If you too have a story or memory about the Holy Name Church then please do get in touch - although this phase of the project is now finished, we are always looking for those with new memories and stories to share. Email yourholynamestory@gmail.com
Personal Memories of the Church
We found once again that the Church has been a centre where important celebrations of life and death have been held. We heard stories of Holy Communions, Confirmations, Marriages and Funerals, and even the occasional love story which was made possible because of the Holy Name Church, as you can read about below!
Collette Bleakley got in touch with this wonderful love story which blossomed on the steps of the Holy Name Church. Read part of the story below, and have a listen to the song ('Jimmy's Love' - written and performed by Paddy Bleakley. Musical arrangement and accompaniment Keieran Glichrist. Backing vocals Emma King) which has been written to immortalise this story, and the role of the Holy Name Church in making this possible...
"In the springtime of 1950, Jimmy King was just back from working in Jersey and to a Mission Mass in the Holy Name with his sister, May and his friend Kevin Doherty. It was customary for the Irish community to gather on the steps after Mass to enjoy the craic and plan their social lives. Jimmy heard a young woman laughing heartily and wanted to meet her. When he actually saw this vibrant and pretty young woman, he said that he knew that he to get to know her. Love intervened and less than three years later, they were married."
"In the springtime of 1950, Jimmy King was just back from working in Jersey and to a Mission Mass in the Holy Name with his sister, May and his friend Kevin Doherty. It was customary for the Irish community to gather on the steps after Mass to enjoy the craic and plan their social lives. Jimmy heard a young woman laughing heartily and wanted to meet her. When he actually saw this vibrant and pretty young woman, he said that he knew that he to get to know her. Love intervened and less than three years later, they were married."
The two photographs above were sent in by Margaret Gladwell, of her parent's wedding at the Holy Name Church, on the 4th April 1959.
This photograph of a wedding party on the steps of the Holy Name Church was sent to us by Chris Burt. It is the wedding of Marie and George Howell in 1947.
We spoke to participants about their memories of their weddings, or of weddings that they attended at the Holy Name Church. June Haliwell, who had her wedding at the Holy Name Church remarked that "there was nowhere else that I wanted to get married. I knew that was the place where I was going to get married. It was just a continuation of my life really, you know, because I had everything else there". Anne Rogers who got married at the church in 1964 remarked upon an amusing incident which happened during her walk up the long church aisle "when I was walking up the aisle, it was quite funny, I caught my high heel in the grates and I said 'oh no!' and my sister in law started crying because she thought I was saying oh no I’m not getting married!" This must have been a common fear, as another participant wrote into the project saying that "I got married there in 1965 I was mithered that my heels would get caught in the metal isle - it had little holes on the floor, all metal, luckily I survived not getting my heel of my shoe caught happy days!"
It is important to remember that everyone who experienced the Holy Name did so in their own personal way. The Holy Name Church holds the individual memories of its congregation. It was clear that the Church facilitated the space for some of the participant’s most memorable moments throughout their lives, and this was conveyed through a fondness to the church and eagerness to recall their memories
It is important to remember that everyone who experienced the Holy Name did so in their own personal way. The Holy Name Church holds the individual memories of its congregation. It was clear that the Church facilitated the space for some of the participant’s most memorable moments throughout their lives, and this was conveyed through a fondness to the church and eagerness to recall their memories
Here you can hear June Haliwell talk about some of her own personal memories of events which took place within the Church.
Have a listen here to Chris Burt talking about the photo to the left, a photo of the Holy Name Crowning group, circa 1955.
Have a listen here to Chris Burt talking about the photo to the left, a photo of the Holy Name Crowning group, circa 1955.
Holy Name in the Community - the Social Activities of the Holy Name Church
It was clear through speaking to participants in this research that the Church helped to facilitate a lot of social interactions. People spoke about how it served as a hub for the community, how it helped to combat loneliness and facilitate new friendships.
John Burns remembers helping to set up the Youth Club which ran in the Parish Hall, a building next to church which no longer belongs to the Church. "I got to know Fr. Hackett fairly well in the following months and it was during this period that he asked if me and some of my friends, two who lived in the same street as us if we would help him set up a youth club in the church hall which was located on Portsmouth Street behind the church and was also the location for the adult social club which was held in rooms on the top floor. We agreed and about six of us started about converting part of the ground floor into a youth club. This would have been around 1966 and after a couple of months the club was up and running. It went very well from the start and if I remember correctly it was restricted to youths between the ages of 11 to 15 years of age.It was nothing too elaborate mainly just music, dancing and table tennis and a few pin ball machines. Refreshments were available in the club consisting of Coke, Pepsi, cordials, crisps, biscuits and a few chocolate bars. The majority were well behaved especially on the dance floor under the scrutiny of Fr. Hackett but if he had to leave for any reason during the evening then a certain amount of closer contact dancing and the odd kiss between couple came into play, well kids will be kids!”
June Halliwell also speaks with fondness about the youth club,“I used to go to the Holy Name Club as well, which was a youth club, where I met one of my first boyfriends! It was like one of the first disco places, with you know, all the latest hits. That’s really the first place I ever went to where there were girls and boys were dancing together. It was a great atmosphere. We knew most of them that were there because we either knew them from school or the neighbourhood where we all lived. It was a great club, loved it. There used to be a priest there called Fr Hackett, and he used to sort of walk around the hall where we were, and if he saw people dancing too close, he’d separate them, or if they were sitting down, you know, arms round each other, he’d make them take their arms off! So you were being watched all the time, that’s for sure.”
John Burns remembers helping to set up the Youth Club which ran in the Parish Hall, a building next to church which no longer belongs to the Church. "I got to know Fr. Hackett fairly well in the following months and it was during this period that he asked if me and some of my friends, two who lived in the same street as us if we would help him set up a youth club in the church hall which was located on Portsmouth Street behind the church and was also the location for the adult social club which was held in rooms on the top floor. We agreed and about six of us started about converting part of the ground floor into a youth club. This would have been around 1966 and after a couple of months the club was up and running. It went very well from the start and if I remember correctly it was restricted to youths between the ages of 11 to 15 years of age.It was nothing too elaborate mainly just music, dancing and table tennis and a few pin ball machines. Refreshments were available in the club consisting of Coke, Pepsi, cordials, crisps, biscuits and a few chocolate bars. The majority were well behaved especially on the dance floor under the scrutiny of Fr. Hackett but if he had to leave for any reason during the evening then a certain amount of closer contact dancing and the odd kiss between couple came into play, well kids will be kids!”
June Halliwell also speaks with fondness about the youth club,“I used to go to the Holy Name Club as well, which was a youth club, where I met one of my first boyfriends! It was like one of the first disco places, with you know, all the latest hits. That’s really the first place I ever went to where there were girls and boys were dancing together. It was a great atmosphere. We knew most of them that were there because we either knew them from school or the neighbourhood where we all lived. It was a great club, loved it. There used to be a priest there called Fr Hackett, and he used to sort of walk around the hall where we were, and if he saw people dancing too close, he’d separate them, or if they were sitting down, you know, arms round each other, he’d make them take their arms off! So you were being watched all the time, that’s for sure.”
Have a listen here to Chris talk about the activities which went on inside the Holy Name Parish Hall! The photo to the right shows a ticket to one of the 'variety shows' held within the Holy Name Parish Hall, one of the many activities which took place in the Church Hall.
The photo to the left was given by Margaret Blaney showing the Holy Name Girl Guide's group.
The Changing Nature of the Local Area
The church served as a parish church to the local community until the demolition of the slum housing commenced around the 1960s. As touched upon in the developmental stage of the project, the memory of the clearance of the Manchester slums still remains vivid in the memories of those who attended the Holy Name in their childhood. As the local area began to change drastically, a main theme that occurred from the interviews and research was the idea of a sense of loss surrounding the vast changes that occurred within the local community and to the parish connected to the church. The demolition is a memory stone for many people who had personal connections to the church and who lived in the local parish, and from analysing the interviews and information given through this research project, it became clear that individuals very much separate their memories and connection to the church into life before the demolition and life after the demolition.
The church served as a parish church to the local community until the demolition of the slum housing commenced around the 1960s. As touched upon in the developmental stage of the project, the memory of the clearance of the Manchester slums still remains vivid in the memories of those who attended the Holy Name in their childhood. As the local area began to change drastically, a main theme that occurred from the interviews and research was the idea of a sense of loss surrounding the vast changes that occurred within the local community and to the parish connected to the church. The demolition is a memory stone for many people who had personal connections to the church and who lived in the local parish, and from analysing the interviews and information given through this research project, it became clear that individuals very much separate their memories and connection to the church into life before the demolition and life after the demolition.
