Members of a prayer group who are staging a sit-in at the Franciscans-owned friary in Clonmel in Co Tipperary have agreed to end their protest later today.
The undertaking was given during High Court proceedings for trespass, taken by the owners of the property.
The Abbey House of Prayer chairman Patrick O'Gorman told the judge he accepted the occupation of the church since the beginning of the year was illegal, but said the action had been taken as a last resort because the church was so important to the people of Clonmel.
Mr O'Gorman said all they wanted was to keep the church open and they had offered to cover the costs of doing so. He told the judge they had full attendance at mass and had huge support from the community, along with the funds to keep the church running at no cost to the Franciscans.
He said those engaged in the sit-in were "not religious zealots, they are mainly elderly and retired people" who had been coming to the church for years.
Mr O'Gorman had earlier told the court they were prepared to leave the church if the Franciscan order agreed to go into mediation. "We want to be reasonable," he said.
'No lawful right to remain'
However Judge Cregan told Mr O'Gorman he was not being reasonable and had admitted illegality which meant they were trespassers and "you have no lawful right to remain. You may believe you have a moral right to remain, which is hard to see but it is an illegal sit-in so you and your members are trespassers".
The judge said he could understand a symbolic sit-in for a day or so but added "you are a man of faith, this is a most unusual case to come before the High Court. I just don't understand why you and your colleagues have pushed the matter as far as the High Court and the plaintiffs have incurred legal costs".
Mr O'Gorman said it was "a last resort". He agreed the group would vacate the property by midnight tonight and that they would return on Saturday and Sunday to remove any personal belongings.
The judge told Mr O'Gorman it was a matter for the Franciscans as to whether or not they wanted to enter into further talks or mediation but he imagined the actions of the group may have "got their backs up".
What happens to the church in the future was a matter for another day, the judge said. He described as reckless the locking of a door between the church and an adjoining residence, which the owners said was needed as a fire escape.
Judge Cregan said he understood the church was very important to the group and "no doubt a devastating loss that the Franciscans are closing the church. But the resolution and the future of this church is a matter to be considered by the community and all of the stakeholders going forward," he said.
The case will be mentioned before the court next week.
The Franciscans have said they needed to divest themselves of the property due to dwindling numbers and gave notice of the church closure towards the end of last year. The sit in began after the last mass on New Year's Eve.
Last week, the SF Trust CLG, the legal owner of the property on behalf of the Franciscans, was given permission by the court to serve proceedings on the Abbey House of Prayer.
In September 2022, the Franciscan order announced it was withdrawing from the friary in the Co Tipperary town. At the time, the order said it was a "sad and difficult decision", having had a presence in the town for more than 700 years, but was unavoidable "as we like so many other religious bodies deal with and respond to our ageing and reducing membership".
The Abbey House of Prayer Group has held prayer and confession at the friary since 2023.
In a statement earlier this month, the Franciscans said that on 29 October 2024, they met with representatives of the group and told them the church building would be closed.
The order said it confirmed the decision in writing on 1 November, with an initial closure date of 18 December, which was extended to 31 December following a request from the Abbey House of Prayer Group.
