“Black Quarry Church.” That’s what some used to call St Joseph’s Catholic Church. It was built around 1850. St Joseph’s stood in a field back then. Imagine this rural scene. Cottages dotted Lyon Street and McAdam Lane. Parishioners brought linen to bleach on the grass. Day trippers bought milk from nearby cottages.
The need for St Joseph’s arose from Irish migration. The Great Famine caused many to seek new homes. More Catholic families settled here. A church and organized education became essential. Before St Joseph’s, education happened in small clergy-run schools. One was on Ferguson Street. Mr Quigley of Dungannon ran day and night schools for older children. Penny collectors gathered weekly pennies. They sent the money to the Bishop through the schoolmaster.
Father Gallagher was St Joseph’s first priest. He once worked in a Blantyre mill. There, he befriended a young David Livingstone. Father Gallagher taught Livingstone Latin. This instruction allowed Livingstone to enter Anderson College of Medicine in Glasgow.
Father Gallagher also provided free education. He rented a large hall on St George’s Road. 130 poor children attended. Two day and night schools existed for those who could pay a weekly penny. By agreeing to government inspection, Father Gallagher secured grants. In 1859, the Jesuits took over the parish. New schools were built. One was on Braid Street for boys. The girl’s school was on McAdam’s Lane. That is now Manresa Place. In 1870, the Braid Street school expanded. Girls moved there. McAdam’s Lane became the infant school.
In 1904, Father Campbell bought land on McAdam’s Lane’s east side. He built a new school building for infants. This red brick building still exists. Cowcadden’s Day Nursery uses it today. Father Campbell requested a street name change. McAdam’s Lane had a bad reputation. He chose Manresa Place. Manresa connects to the Jesuit movement in Spain. The Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, a Jesuit priest, served at St Joseph’s briefly in 1881.
Today, most of the old buildings are gone. But St Joseph’s still has a thriving primary school. It stands on the site of the former Lyon Street. St Joseph’s Catholic Church has a long history of serving the community.