The Bishop of Galway, Dr James McLoughlin, has given permission for parishioners from a Catholic parish in the city to celebrate masses in the Church of Ireland St Nicholas's Collegiate Church while theirs is closed for renovations.
This will mark the first time that a Catholic service has been held in St Nicholas's since the church was claimed by the Williamites in 1691, 40 years after Oliver Cromwell's troops occupied Galway.
Bishop McLoughlin accepted a generous offer from the Church of Ireland community to accommodate members of the Augustinian parish whose church is closing for nine months.
The Rev Patrick Towers of St Nicholas's Church offered the use of it to the Augustinian parishioners for the duration of the works which are due to start in April.
He has offered to reschedule the weekly 11.30 a.m. Sunday service to facilitate Augustinian parishioners every weekend.
Bishop McLoughlin has now given permission for weekend masses for the Augustinian parish to be celebrated in St Nicholas's during the period.
"This was an extremely generous offer, and I am genuinely grateful to the Rev Towers and his parishioners for their readiness to help accommodate the Augustinian parishioners," he said.
"I feel this offer is very much in line with the courtesy and kindness that has always been shown to me personally on the many occasions when I have participated at events in St Nicholas's," the bishop said.
The offer was approved by the Church of Ireland Bishop of Tuam, the Most Rev Richard Henderson, and it came about as a result of grassroots meetings between lay parishioners of the two churches.
Planning permission for the renovation and refurbishment of St Augustine's was granted recently, and parishioners were facing an uncertain period during the revamp.
Precedents have already been set in the west, as the Church of Ireland has also provided temporary homes for Catholic parishes in Westport and Cong during similar periods of renovations.
However, the Galway situation is different in that the Augustinian church is close to a number of Catholic churches, whereas those in Westport and Cong were not near any Catholic churches.
