A GENEROUS gesture by the Church of Ireland, Derrylin, ‘watching’ cars belonging to Catholic people attending Mass in Teemore could start a trend.

Their ‘good Samaritan’ action by the minister, Reverend Andrew Quill, his daughter and a friend followed recent break-ins, at St Mary’s and at neighbouring churches.


Reverend Andrew Quill believes that ‘car watching’ could suit some people.

“It could be a ministry for people in that not everyone can stand up and read, and, it could serve a dual purpose in that if it was raining hard, the ‘watchers’ could shelter worshippers under umbrellas to and from the church door.”

Which was exactly what his daughter, Christine did at St Mary’s.

“We donned hi-vis jackets and took up position for the 9.45 Sunday morning Mass. It was one of those mornings you sort of thought we picked a good morning to catch a thief because if was bucketing out of the heavens.

“Nothing happened, but my daughter ended up giving people a bit of shelter with her umbrella, walking them to their car.”

He went on: “Of course, we’d do it again. They are our neighbours. We were away on holiday when it happened and, when we came back, we thought this would be a way to show we sympathise with those whose cars had been broken into.

“Anyone who is your neighbour, you would like to think they would do the same for us. I know in Florencecourt, people had a few (car) break-ins as well, so it was an opportunity to do something worthwhile.”

The parish priest of Derrylin/Teemore, Fr Fintan McKiernan commended their action, and he revealed that his church would shortly be following suit.

“It was a nice gesture which I appreciate. It was a meaningful activity. The onus is now on us to protect our own, and it has acted as an incentive.

“Yes, we have spoken about it, and there was an excellent response within our own church for car supervisors at major liturgical events, such as Masses, weddings and funerals.


“The idea is they would be a visible presence that would encourage potential thieves to move on, rather than attempting to accost or confront them. We feel that that should be enough.”

A spokesman for the diocese of Kilmore said the bishop (Dr Leo O’Reilly) was aware of Mass goers’ cars being broken into at Teemore.

“Unfortunately, this has been a problem at churches for many years. The damage is not confined to what has been stolen. Car owners have to contend with the trauma of having been victimised, the sense of guilt for having exposed themselves to a crime, and the inconvenience of repairing their car.”

The spokesman said he was not aware of any ‘car watch’ arrangement in operation at any church in the diocese.