North Tipp churches join forces for Black Santa event

Reverend Rod Smyth and Father Des Hillery. Photo © Tipp FM.

Three churches are coming together in Nenagh over the next few days for a ‘Black Santa’ fundraiser.

Local parishes of the Catholic Church, Church of Ireland and Methodist Church will be collecting money at the Market Cross in Nenagh for CARMHA mental health service in Nenagh as well as the Nenagh Special Needs Summer Camp.

Clergy in the three churches will take turns on the streets to raise money, today from 2-5pm, tomorrow from 6-8pm, and on Saturday from 2-5pm.

Reverend Rod Smyth from the Church of Ireland explains the background to ‘Black Santa’.

“It goes back some 43 Christmas’s ago to my native city of Belfast when the then Dean of St Anne’s Cathedral decided in the middle of the Troubles in a very desolate city at that time to bring some Christmas cheer and Festive spirit to the place.”

“He decided to have a charity sit-out and to keep put the cold he put lots of layers on including a black cloak. Such was the response of the people to his charity sit-out that the local newspaper nicknamed him the ‘Black Santa’.”