Posted online: Sep 10th, 2008

The curate of a church at the centre of an unholy row involving local builders has defended the assignment of a €100,000 contract to an outside firm.
Fr Frank McManus said he delegated the choice of builder to a firm of architects whose judgement he trusts.
He spoke out as work on an Omagh-based firm got under way at his St Joseph’s Church on The Rock, Ballyshannon.
Local contractors have complained they weren’t given an opportunity to tender for the work when it was being assigned.
They complained that consideration should have been given to parishioners who are struggling because of the downturn in the economy.
Contractor John F. McGee, who has served on the Magh Ene Parish Council for a number of years, said. “Men are being laid off. Providers have closed their doors and there is more to come. We are not looking for heavenly intervention, just fair play.”
He added: “If the contract had been put out to tender and we lost out on it through fair competition I would have no complaints but not one of the contractors in this area has been asked to submit a price for these works and I demand to know the reason why.”
Mr McGee sent protest letters to the head of the Clogher diocese, Bishop Joseph Duffy, to the parish council, Fr. Frank Mc Manus, and architects Allen Curran Ltd.
He claims the replies he received are just buck-passing messages.
He said: “They are just passing the responsibility down the line, absolving themselves of any responsibility.”
The architects told him: “We have no doubt that many construction firms in the area could have undertaken the work successfully by sub-contracting but, rightly or wrongly, we decided that firms dedicated to what now seems to be called ‘environmental improvements’ were going to produce the best results for the parish.”
The work on the church, expected to last another month, involves treating the Victorian railings, constructing a new wall and improving paving around the building.
It’s the second clash in the same parish between builders and the clergy in 18 months.
Parish priest Fr Ramon Munster was accused of snubbing locals when Northern Ireland builders were chosen last year for a €3 million renovation of his Church of the Immaculate Conception in Bundoran.
Builder Brendan Keown, a member of the congregation of that church, said: “The fact that this has happened once again in the same parish angers and amazes me.”

Reporter: Paddy Clancy