Locality-Lavan, Monu, Village

Ar dTimpeallacht / Our Locality

The Lavanagh Centre

The Lavanagh Centre is a regional branch of the Enable Ireland organisation and provides a range of services to people with disabilites and to their families.Services for children and their families cover all aspects of a child's physical, educational and social development from early infancy through adolescence.
Pupils from our school have learned to swim in the pool at the centre for many years and indeed, two parents in our school work at the centre.

At Diamond Hill on the Blackrock Road is a structure known as the `McCarthy Monument`. The Monument was erected by Mr. Alexander McCarthy who was an MP in the 1860's. It is made of limestone and is 25 feet high. McCarthy built this Monument to honour his ancient forefathers. Many of the decorations on the Monument have been destroyed over the years but if you look closely you can still see the crest of the McCarthy family, a red deer, and the heads of four of the great Kings of Munster, to whom the McCarthys can trace their ancestry.

The Mc Carthy Monument

Ballintemple Village

S.M.A Fathers

In 1879,Fr François Devoucoux, superior of the S.M.A. in Ireland purchased property from Maria McCarthy (one of the McCarthy's of the McCarthy Monument). With money contributed by a wealthy Yorkshire farmer, a convert to Catholicism, Mr Thomas Himsworth, a collage capable of housing twenty students was built. It cost £2,400.The chapel was completed in 1881 at a cost of £2,200.The material used to build the collage and church was drawn from a quarry on the property where the Rest House now stands. The quarry was filled in in 1913.
In 1909 the Society established a major seminary at Blackrock Road where students followed the full range of courses until Ordination. This was the first seminary in Ireland to devote itself exclusively to 'foreign missions'. In 1926, because of the large increase in student intake the major seminary was relocated from Blackrock Road to Dromantine in Co Down. Today the S.M.A. House is the Administrative Headquarters of the Irish Province and also a House of Retirement and Promotion.

Connection with
Terence Mac Sweeney

In the weeks before his arrest and imprisonment Terence Mac Sweeney lived in the S.M.A. House at Blackrock Road. He occupied a room on the top storey of what is now called 'The Old House'. There was a small washroom off the first room on the right of the stairs. A bed was placed in this washroom. At night a large wardrobe was drawn across to conceal the entrance to this wash room. Terrence Mac Sweeney used to receive Holy Communion at the same time as the S.M.A. students (Blackrock Road was then a major seminary for missionary priests). He was given Communion in the side chapel, out of sight. He spent his last night of freedom at Blackrock Rd.

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