In Reply to: re: re: dedication of the church of the holy rosary in 1901 posted by spiceloft on April 22, 2007 at 12:44:49:

Once again from "through Fagan's Gates,Fr Patrick Lyons was a curate in Castlebar before being appointed Administrator.He was a native of Ballyhaunis.A relative, Spiceloft?
"Canon Lyons died poor.For one thing,he had always given a lot of money to charity.We have already noted his generous donations to the Church of the Holy Rosary.Any time he went away,he never came back without a set of cruets,a set of vestments or something for the church.His will showed that he put 700 pounds of his own money into building the boys National School.In his time he must have erected more than 100,000 pounds worth of buildings in Caastlebar Parish and in all probability put some of his own money into each one of them.He left his large library to St Geralds new Technical Intermediate School.Following his death,some of his relatives arrived one Sunday at the Sacristy after Mass inquiring with the Church Clerk Michael Jordan about Canon Lyons' money.'Michael'they said,'did he not get a living out of Castlebar?.How then has he died a pauper?.Michael brought them to the door.'Look down Chapel St,'he said'you see the row of buildings on the far side of the street-The Presbytery,Parochial House,St Patricks National School,St Geralds Intermediate School.On this side The Monastery and the Church of Th eHoly Rosary.There you will find Canon Lyons' money: