Long Tower Church, Derry
PRESS RELEASE – BLESSING OF STATUE OF THE RISEN CHRIST
Tuesday 4th May 2010

NEW CROSS AND CROWN FOR CHRIST AT THE LONG TOWER
On Monday morning some new features of an old statue were unveiled to parishioners at the Long Tower.  When the church was new in 1909 all the statues on the roof were intact.  With the passing of time some of the statues succumbed to the weather and are long gone from their position and even from our memories.  Others were more durable and survived intact, while others again lost certain aspects of their features.  Above the main door of the Long Tower stand three statues, one of the risen Christ and two of the sentry angels of the resurrection.  These three represent the Biblical scene in Jerusalem on the first Easter morning, when the holy women came to the tomb and found the stone rolled away.  The 1909 history book of the Long Tower Church describes the statues as follows:
“The apex of the entrance is topped by a golden figure of Christ Resurgent on Easter morn, flanked by similar figures of the Angels of the Tomb.” (P.J.F., The Story of the Long Tower with Description of New Church and Account of Dedication Ceremonies, 1909, p. 35)

Over the last century the crown on the head of Christ wore away and the cross held in the hand of Christ perished under the elements.  This most recent project set out to restore the cross and crown, but using hard wood.  The original statues were metal, made of German spelter, but it seemed easier to rely on the replacement parts to be fashioned in timber.

Last year, in advance of the centenary of the church, a replacement wooden cross was made and fitted into the hand of the statue by a joiner, Matthew Cregan.  Last week in the latest phase of restoration we put a new wooden crown on the head of Christ, replacing the remnants of the original one.  This replacement crown was made by Hugh Rooney, a local craftsman.  The crown has been fashioned from five separate pieces of mahogany, made in the shape of a wheel and very firmly glued together.  What serves as the “spokes” of the wheel is the four batons of the cross, splayed a little as they reach the circular band of the corona.  Of course, mahogany is a very hard and durable wood, well able to stand up to the weather.  In addition, because it is placed on a height, wood will prove safer than metal, lest it ever perish and give way to gravity!  But it is very well made and very securely fastened and we are confident that it will last a long time.  The finished effect is magnificent, an original work of art very successfully restored.

The cross and crown were unveiled on Monday morning after the 10 o’clock Mass and blessed by the two priests in the presence of the people of the Long Tower.  We are very grateful to all who have joined the fund-raising Draw which enables us to restore the church.  New members always welcome.

Rev. Roland Colhoun, Adm.
Long Tower Church
Derry