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The Church of St. Aidan, Ferns
Location	Ferns, County Wexford
Country	Republic of Ireland
Website	[1]
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Ferns
Clergy
Dean	The Very Rev'd. Patrick B. Cushen
Curate(s)	Rev'd. Richard Redmond
Laity
Director of music	Francis Davitt (Sundays, Easter and other events); Sean Carley (Saturdays and Week Holy Days);
Organist(s)	Sean Carley; Arthur Moynihan;
Music group(s)	Ferns Parish Choir; St.Aidan's Brass Band; Scoil Naomh Maodhóg Choir;

History

File:Old Catholic Church, ferns.jpg

Old St.Aidan's Church, Ferns

File:New Church Before Renovation.jpg

New Church before renovation

The old Roman Catholic church stood at the north of the town until the 1970s, when there was a supposed "roof problem". The Parish Priest at the time ordered it, with the go ahead of the parish to demolish it. A convent, St. Aidan’s Monastery of Adoration now stands in its place.

The foundation stone of the new Church of St. Aidan was laid on the Feast of St. Aidan, 31 January 1974, the foundation stone lies at the northwest corner wall of the church at the entrance to the sacristy. The new Catholic Church was completed in 1975. In 2007, the new church went under a major refurbishment since it too had roof problems with leakage of the roof and so on, there was a previously roof problem 15 years after the church was built. They replaced the slates with new composite metal-material, the inside was also refurbished and few minor changes were made to the look of the building. It has always been the second church after the Cathedral, since the Cathedral moved from Ferns to Enniscorthy, also since it's the founding place in the heart of the Diocese of Ferns

New Church

A plaque listing the names of parish priests, from 1644, is on the wall to the right of the altar, beside the pipe organ. The pipe organ in St.Aidan's Catholic Church is more than 100 years old and used to be a "pump" organ until the parish modified it to electricity. The pipe organ was transferred from the old church to the new church and is still in use. The New Catholic Church is open daily - all day - 9 am until around 4pm, usually or sometimes later on Fridays, and still remains the secondary church of the diocese.

Music

Ferns is very well known for its talented musicians, some of these musicians also use their talents in the church. Following the footsteps of musical worship in Ferns since the time of the monks in the Abbey, the Church music group maintains a very high standard of music in the Parish Church area. Rehearsals are held by the choir one hour before, and one hour after 11am mass on Sundays. Organ rehearsals are held on Saturdays at 5pm until 6:30pm usually. People are more than welcome to come and listen and to meet the musicians.

Music Directors ;-

                        Francis Davitt (Sundays, Easter and other events)
                        Sean Carley (Saturdays and Week Holy Days)

Choir Master ;-

                        Francis Davitt

Organist(s) ;-

                        Sean Carley 
                        Arthur Moynihan

Music groups ;-

                        Ferns Parish Choir
                        St.Aidan's Brass Band
                        Scoil Naomh Maodhóg Choir

Mass/service times ;-

                        Monday - Saturday 9am
                        Saturday 7pm
                        Sunday 8:30am and 11am
                        Adoration each sunday from 7pm until 9pm

Christian Tradition

The town gave the name to the Diocese of Ferns (both Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland). The town's religious traditions live on today through the recent establishment in Ferns of a hermitage.

The whole history of modern Ireland stems from Ferns – Diarmuid MacMurrough, King of Leinster invited the Normans in 1169 to help him fight his battles (they never left) – he sealed the deal with his daughter Aoife’s marriage to Strongbow.

Ferns has evidence of four distinct periods in Irish history. Archaeological digs have revealed habitations from the Bronze, Iron, early Christian and Norman eras.

Ferns boasts many ecclesiastical sites dating from early Christian era through Norman and the Middle Ages. Heritage sites include

Ferns Castle (Visitor Centre May to end of September – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open daily, housing the Ferns Tapestries)

Cathedral graveyard

The Grave of King Dermot MacMurrough

St. Mary’s Augustinian Abbey

St. Edan’s Cathedral

Remainder of the great Medieval Gothic Cathedral

Ferns High Crosses

St. Mogue’s Cottage

St. Peter’s Church

St. Mogue's Well

Monument to Father John Murphy (who was born near Ferns)

St.Aidan's Church (New Catholic Church)

St. Aidan’s Monastery of Adoration (Convent on the old Catholic church site)

For further information on Ferns Heritage http://www.fernsvillage.ie/ferns-heritage-page.html

Transport

It is located on the N11 route linking Dublin to Wexford. It is located in the middle of Ferns at the main roundabout in the centre of the town.