Special visit to Ballinasloe Christian Fellowship 26th March 2026
First a brief history of how we became aware of Ballinasloe Christian Fellowship (B.C.F.). Rev Ronnie McCracken was at the horse fair in Appleby. One of the gypsy horse dealers said “you are from Ireland. I go over there to buy horses at Ballinasloe Co. Galway.” When Ronnie returned home, he enquired about the horse fair in Ballinasloe and eventually made the journey to the fair. While there he met Pastor Tim Quinlan who was giving out tracts on the street, so he decided to help him. That was the start of a relationship that led to annual visits by Ronnie and a team of volunteers going to help with outreach at the horse fair.
The church fellowship rented a vacant pub called The Black Pig. They use these premises as a free coffee bar and outreach centre. One of our men Robert Wilson was a team member who has been going along every year since 2012.
The Ballinasloe church fellowship was meeting in a local hotel every Sunday. Then, more recently a former Guinness warehouse opposite the hotel came up for sale. Ronnie, again decided to help and put out an appeal to all his church contacts to raise money to help buy the property. Because of Robert’s link with Ballinasloe, we as a church responded with a financial gift. The building has been transformed by Tim and some of the church members along with help from a work team from Boston USA who come each year to help with outreach at the fair and practical help with the church building.
One of our members found a source for The New Testament translated into the Irish language with parallel English text. Some were bought as gifts for a few people interested in learning Irish. Our thought was that this book would help to encourage people to read the scriptures and thereby find the way of Salvation. Two of our members decided to gift money to provide 50 copies and to donate 40 copies to take to Pastor Tim Quinlan for the people of Ballinasloe and for a little church in Co. Clare.
A BIG DAY OUT
On Thursday 26th March we set off for Ballinasloe. Jimmy McClenaghan was our driver and on board were Robert Wilson, Tom Williamson and Trevor Crothers. It was quite a long but uneventful journey through lovely countryside, towns and villages.
We were met with a very enthusiastic welcome from Pastor Tim and his wife Marie who gave Robert the biggest hug. We were given a tour of the church building and were amazed at the transformation they had made to the premises. We gain entrance via a spacious entrance hall behind which are toilets, a very welcome facility after a long journey. Behind the toilets there is an exit leading to the boiler house and a shared courtyard with rear vehicle entrance. From the entrance hall to the left is the main sanctuary with seating for over 50 people. This is also a multi-functional space. There is a fully fitted kitchen on the ground floor also a shop for donated clothing and a food bank. Upstairs there is an office, a youth room and some storage space. A room above the boiler house is currently being re-floored. There is still some work to complete.
When we arrived, some ladies were engaged in a craft workshop. There is lots going on throughout the week by way of outreach on the church premises. After presenting the Irish New Testaments we drove to Tim’s house where we enjoyed a great time of fellowship and were provided with a lovely meal before making our journey homeward.
We had great craic on the way home!! Robert suggested a shorter route for our journey, however after one wrong turn and a few laps of a roundabout we discovered that each journey was a similar distance. So well done Robert and thank you Jimmy for a very memorable trip. All roads lead home.
Please remember our friends in Ballinasloe in your prayers.
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