‘No one residing’ in Blarney church

A church in Blarney has released a statement refuting claims made on TikTok and Facebook that up to “40-50 foreign nationals” have been living on-site.

The Church of the Resurrection, Blarney, part of the Church of Ireland United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, released the statement saying the allegations were “completely false”.

“There is no one residing in the church,” said Canon Robert Farris, the church’s Rector.

“As Rector, I want to reassure the people of Blarney that the church has recently reopened following a planned renovation to address damp issues. We are delighted to have this much-loved building back in regular use,” he said.

He said a “completely false narrative” had been shared in Blarney. The church posted photographs of the interior of the building on its Facebook page, which it said were taken on Monday, 6 July.

“We can assure the residents of Blarney the church has not changed purpose. Visits to the church could be arranged for the person concerned,” it said.

The post drew support from members of the community in Blarney.

In an update following the statement being released, the church said it had received an apology, and it was “drawing a line in the sand on these past couple of days. We just want to get out and enjoy the sun.”

A coffee morning was also organised on Monday for members of the community to see the repairs, have a chat and to “reassure the community that we don’t have anyone living in the church!”

Rector Farris said the church is open for public worship on the first and third Sundays of each month and “continues to be used throughout the week for prayer, community activities, baptisms, weddings, and funerals”.

“We are grateful for the continued support of the local community and encourage anyone with questions to contact the parish directly rather than relying on inaccurate information shared online,” he said.

Lord Mayor of Cork and Blarney-resident Cllr Damian Boylan encouraged verification of information before resharing.

“Deliberately spreading false claims about any community serves only to create division and unnecessary fear. We can disagree about many things, but misinformation that targets local communities helps nobody,” he said.