Tullamore Masses now streamed live

The Catholic Church may be thousands of years old, but things at Tullamore's Church of the Assumption are also very modern. Just this month, the church on Harbour Street in Tullamore installed web cameras and now all liturgies are streamed online. "We use communications all the time to get the message out," parish priest Fr Shane Crombie said this week. Though he said web cameras "can't possibly replace being present" he said the new streaming service offered since December 8 is great for elderly parishioners who may not be able to get to church services very easily. "It's amazing the number of silver surfers there are out there," he added. Tullamore Parish clearly keeps up to date with new technologies, with a parish Facebook page set up almost two years ago now boasting just under 3,000 online friends. Fr Shane said the new system involving web cameras is just another way to reach the congregation. For the past 20 years, he said clergy have used a CB radio system to broadcast Mass and they have very much welcomed the recent step. "It's very discreet," he said. "You wouldn't be conscious of it." The live streaming service offered by Tullamore's Church of the Assumption is also available in St Joseph's Church in Ballinagar and St Patrick's Church in Killeigh. Anyone with a web connection can access Church of the Assumption Masses by simply logging on to www.tullamoreparish.ie and clicking on the relevant link.