All Saints Parish Church rises from the ashes!

THE Vicar of Antrim, The Venerable Dr Stephen McBride, was finally back at the pulpit of All Saints Parish Church on Sunday for an Act of Remembrance - almost two years after a day they will never forget.

On December 2024, Antrim was stunned after the historic place of worship was damaged in an accidental blaze which broke out shortly after the building was closed for the Christmas period.

Dr McBride, who recently celebrated 30 years in his role, has paid tribute to the parishioners who raised the alarm, and the diligent care that meant that even more damage was thankfully prevented.

“It is a date that will forever stay in my memory. At 2.20pm my wife Helen and I were enjoying pizza in Holywood when I received a phone call to tell me there had been a fire in the church.

“Forty minutes later I was trying to absorb the magnitude of the damage. The smoke that had filled the church had been skilfully removed by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue personnel from the Antrim Station but the stifling heat and the acrid smell of burning remained.

“Although the structural damage was slight, as the weeks unfolded, the repair bill that was initially estimated in the region of £500,000 rose to over £2.5million.

“In the following weeks, the initial impact of what had happened began to sink in.

“Thankfully parishioners Sylvia and David Smyth, who went to fix the flowers for the coming Sunday were not fatally injured in a potential backdraft when they opened the church doors to discover the damage.

“That Cecil Barton, who locked up the church with a few others on Christmas Day, closed the internal doors, saved the church from total destruction.

“My mood of depression at the enormity of what lay ahead of us slowly lifted as Ian Maconachie, our conservation specialist and his skilled team of restoration experts began the task of restoring our beloved, historic church.

“Ian and our main contractors Felix O’Hare & Co from Newry have worked on several churches damaged by fire and together they filled us with confidence and excitement.”

Since then a huge restoration project has taken place, including the painstaking repair of the fire and smoke damage, with generous assistance from the people of the town.

There has also been a separate refurbishment of the tower, which was flanked with scaffolding for several months funded by Heritage Lottery and the National Churches Trust.

And then there is the planned replacement of the heating and sound systems!

With the help of a tireless band of volunteers, the transformation at All Saints has been truly remarkable.

“As I have witnessed the gradual restoration of the of the church over the past twenty-two months, from its worst moments through to the beauty we are enjoying, the overall impact of the restored beauty might easily have been lost on me,” said Dr McBride.

“However, every time I have come into the church, I have been uplifted by the splendour. It has been amazing to see people’s reactions as they have returned to a building that has such a special place in their hearts.

“The long and painful period of uncertainty has been replaced with a sense of joy and thanksgiving as we look forward to worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

“Thanks to everyone who has played their part in this magnificent restoration.”