Cloisters Café opening

Derry Journal

02/04/2025

Cloisters Café opening on Longtower Church grounds.

Transcript

00:00I'm Pat Kennedy, I took over at Clusters Cafe this week just.

00:15Can you tell me what's happening today, is this the grand opening?

00:18It's the grand opening today, it's about a week they open it, it's the week that Sister

00:22Clare's retreat, so we're opening today, we're going to be opening every Tuesday to Saturday

00:25going forward.

00:27And you've got a cute group of people here today, what's that like?

00:30It's a wee bit overwhelming at the start but we'll get on with it and see how we get on

00:34but it's a great week to open, it's to get that word out that it's on the chapel grounds

00:39and hopefully everybody returns later in the week and next week as well, doing and going

00:43forward.

00:44What is your cafe offer, what would you say to bring people in here?

00:47The cafe offer is it's going to be, hopefully we can get a community sort of area for everyone

00:53in the community, they come and gather and the menu is quite reasonable priced for people

01:00in the area so we'd hope they keep them in there and don't have to go into the town and

01:03such and keep after class and they can come in and stay and have a chat and whatever,

01:07so I'd say there's a lot of people in the area that's really eager, that's looking for

01:11this.

01:12Are you proud to see it open today?

01:13I'm actually over the moon to have it open today to be honest, it's a wee long few weeks

01:18trying to get it off the ground and even a long day already and we're only at, it's only

01:2212 o'clock, I didn't wait so, but we'll get there.

01:26Have you always wanted to open a cafe, is this your first or?

01:28To be honest, I'm involved with two takeaways in the town but I always wanted to have a

01:33wee cafe to be honest and it just sort of came out of nowhere and I'm over the moon that

01:37Farm Ongans, we came to an agreement to open it together sort of with the church, so I'm

01:42buzzing, so there's a lot of help behind the scenes, we're doing a boil and stuff to help

01:47get it off the ground, but as I say, it's time to slap it here, we'll see how the day

01:51goes.

01:52If we open the bar and get the harmony to go.

01:54What does it mean to you to have it open on the church grounds here?

01:58It means a lot to me, my local parish were growing up, my wife's over the moon to be,

02:04I actually didn't know the cafe was here until Farm Ongans said to me and I came and looked

02:08at it, it was a sign that it was unused to be honest, so I'm really grateful that we

02:14opened it on the chapel grounds and I think it really could really offer a lot for this

02:18community to be honest.

02:30My name's Doreena Boyle and I'm the manager of Arras Column Kill St Columbus Heritage

02:34Centre.

02:35And there's quite a lot of people here to go and open the cafe, what's that like?

02:38It's great, we knew it would be well supported by the parish and local people, but I suppose

02:43we're reaching out to people everywhere, tourists, visitors, pilgrims, there's a great

02:48tradition of pilgrimage and hospitality on this site that goes back to our monastic roots

02:55and it speaks to really the foundation of the city and of this holy ground, this whole

03:00precinct really from the ruins of the round tower in Lumen Christi now to this site and

03:06incorporating the church is really the medieval heart of the city.

03:11This church is offering a lot, they've got a cafe and what else, what's going on here?

03:16So we have a museum over two floors, we're the only dedicated St Columbus museum in the

03:22city and we also have a gift shop upstairs and now the cafe, the cafe's a great addition,

03:28Pat and Louise have put their heart and soul into it and it's just a great asset to the

03:33site and to the precinct, we always had the church and it is genuinely one of the most

03:39ornate churches and certainly in Ireland if not in Western Europe and the grounds,

03:46the kneeling stone, just the atmosphere and the support of the people, there's always

03:51been a great, I suppose, sense of spirituality on this site.

03:57Sister Clare has added a whole new dimension to that and the retreat's on this week.

04:04What would Sister Clare mean to you personally?

04:08The truth is I see it as really 1,000, 1,500 years of continuous Christian activity on

04:16this site, from Columbus' birth in 521 and he founds his first monastery somewhere in

04:22this vicinity, most likely the hill of Derry.

04:25But I really see Clare, these two great holy people, bookending 1,500 years of continuous

04:32Christian activity on this site.

04:47Introduce yourself please.

04:48Father Gerard Mongan, ADM of Long Tower Parish, Derry.

04:52And what do you feel about the grand opening of the cafe here in Church Grounds today Father?

04:56It's very exciting.

04:57It all started when I was walking up Bishop Street and I happened to look into Pat's

05:02chip shop, the City Chipper I think it's called, down on Bishop Street there.

05:06I just suddenly was prompted that this man would be great to run a cafe down, because

05:11we were looking for someone who might run a cafe for us.

05:16It happened in the past, fell through, and I was just hoping that it might take off again.

05:21And just a sudden, maybe divine inspiration, walking up Bishop Street, seeing Pat in the

05:26shop and just going in and asking him would he be interested.

05:29And he said right away he would be.

05:31So I just want to thank Pat for his enthusiasm, for overseeing this today, and for organising

05:36it and getting it opened.

05:38And as you can see there's a great crowd has come for the first breakfast.

05:43And it'll be open from 10 to 6 each day of the retreat here for Sister Clare, and then

05:48from Tuesday to Saturday.

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