Dedications and presentations at St Polycarp’s Patronal Festival

Thursday March 5th 2026

Basil and Elizabeth Bradley are pictured with St Polycarp’s Director of Music, Simon Neill-O’Brien BEM, following Basil’s presentation to mark his 80 years’ association with St Polycarp’s Choir. (Photo: Cormac O’Brien)

By the Rev Clifford Skillen

During Choral Evensong to mark the Patronal Festival of St Polycarp’s Church, Finaghy, on Sunday February 22, gifts to enhance the church’s acoustics, music and worship were dedicated in memory of former parishioners and presentations made to a long-standing former choir member.

CHURCH DEDICATIONS

The gifts, dedicated by the rector of Finaghy and Upper Malone, the Rev Louise Stewart, comprised a new church PA system, presented by Angela Morwood and her family in memory of Bassett who sang in the choir for almost 60 years prior to his death in 2023; and financial donations to the church’s organ fund from the family of Billy McCully, another long-standing choir member who died in 2024, and from George Hunter and his family in memory of Edith who, prior to her death in 2022, played the organ for many years at the Sunday morning services in Musgrave Park Hospital.

The regular donations to church funds and appeals by many parishioners were also gratefully acknowledged.

‘EXTRAORDINARY’ CHOIR SERVICE

In addition, presentations were made by two young choristers to Basil Bradley to mark his extraordinary 80 years’ association with the choir, dating back to the 1940s, when he first joined the then all boys’ and men’s choir, complete with bow ties and stiff white collars!

Basil Bradley is pictured following his presentation to mark his 80 years’ association with St Polycarp’s Choir. (Photo: Cormac O’Brien)

Although he is no longer able to sing in the choir, Basil and his wife Elizabeth still retain a keen interest in the life and activities of the choir and try to attend St Polycarp’s Choral Evensong as often as possible.

The choir also marked Basil’s years of service with a donation in his name to the South Wing Project of his old school, BRAI (Inst).

DEEP APPRECIATION

St Polycarp’s Director of Music, Simon Neill-O’Brien BEM, expressed his deep appreciation of the generosity of the Morwood, McCully and Hunter families which would be of enormous benefit to the church’s continuing music and worship.

He praised the remarkable contribution, dedication and indomitable spirit of Basil in his support of the choir over eight decades, describing him as ‘an Instonian at heart and a true parishioner in the fullest sense of that word, serving the church and choir quietly, faithfully and joyfully, always wanting the music to flourish.’