St Mary, Star of the Sea, Nunsquarter

As the 19th Century progressed, the Catholic population of the Ards grew. More and more parishioners travelled from Kircubbin, Inishargy, Greyabbey, and Killyvolgan etc. to the parish church of St Patrick’s, Lisbane. A storehouse behind the pharmacy in Kircubbin was used as a temporary chapel. Captain Herron, who built Herron Hall in Kircubbin, owned this building.

In 1840, James Allen of Nunsquarter House, Allen’s Brae, offered a site for a new church for the Parish Priest, Fr Bernard Dorrian. Soon after, Fr Dorrian was moved to Lisburn, and there was a succession of three more Parish Priests until Fr James Crickard was appointed in 1852. He accepted the offer of the site in the downs of Nunsquarter and had a church built by 1864. The new church was dedicated on 6th January 1865 to St Mary, Star of the Sea, by Bishop Cornelius Denvir.

Interior of St Mary, Star of the Sea

In the following year, 1866, the Bishop drew up new boundary lines and established several new parish entities across the Diocese. One of these was the Slans/Ballygalget section of the Parish of Ardkeen, which had Fr John McCourt appointed as Parish Priest that year. Fr John McAuley became Parish Priest of the now smaller Parish of Ardkeen, with the parish church still situated at Lisbane.

In June 1974, a sectarian-motivated bomb attack destroyed part of the church. However, this proved a blessing in disguise as it provided the opportunity to make necessary improvements and extensions to accommodate a still-increasing population and post-Vatican II changes. The retirement of Fr Jim Sheppard in 2005, along with the reduced number of priests in the Diocese, has meant that no priest is now resident at Nunsquarter. Since 2006, the Parish has been administered by one priest.