St. Brigid's owner repairing church after TUPOC eviction, claims some items missing

St Brigid's Church on January 7, 2023 / Photo: Brad Quinn, CTV NEWS Ottawa

Sunday, January 8, 2023

The owner of St. Brigid’s Church in Lowertown, which was the main stage of a series of events centered around a group calling itself “The United People of Canada” (TUPOC) last summer, says the interior of the church needs some repairs and several items are missing. TUPOC is denying the allegation.

Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s “CFRA Live with Andrew Pinsent” on Saturday, Patrick McDonald said items were moved around or damaged inside the church while TUPOC was there.

“Because of the previous occupants, a lot of work had to be redone to re-fix the place,” he said. “We are working through areas like the Kildare Room and then upstairs, which would be the main church area itself. It’ll be another couple of months, probably, before we have it up and functioning.”

IRISH PUB REOPENS

One part of the church, the Irish pub St. Brigid’s Well, has reopened. McDonald said getting that open again was an important step.

“It was closed at the beginning of COVID, like other places, so we’d had it closed since then. To bring it back, there was really a groundswell of people asking for it to be reopened,” he said. “I think it was a great watering hole for people in the community and from around the area who are of Irish background. I think it’s good that we have it reopened.”

McDonald says he’s been speaking with the Irish ambassador to Canada, Eamonn McKee, and the area councillor, Stéphanie Plante, about the future of the church. The previous councillor, Mathieu Fleury, had created a “leaders table” to discuss how the property could best be utilized. McDonald said his intent is to make the church into an Irish cultural centre once repairs are complete.

GROUP SEEKING TO OVERTURN EVICTION

The TUPOC group is appealing its eviction. The group says it wants a judge to overturn the decision to remove them from the premises but, so far, no court date has been set.

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