St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church, also known as St. Brigid's or Famine Church, is a church located at 123 Avenue B, on the southeast corner of East 8th Street, along the eastern edge of Tompkins Square Park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. Associated with the church is a parish school, Saint Brigid School, consisting of grades Pre-K through 8, which has been in existence since 1856.
Like the neighborhood it serves, Saint Brigid's Church has had a colorful and tumultuous history since its beginnings in 1848. In 2013, St. Emeric Church on Avenue D was closed and the parish merged with St. Brigid. It is now called St. Brigid-St. Emeric Church.
History
The parish was organized in 1847 by Rev. Richard Kein, pastor of the Church of the Nativity. Construction began in 1848 by Irish shipwrights for those fleeing the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849). The architect of the church was Patrick Keely, who handcarved the gothic reredos himself. It was built by Irish boatwrights from the East River boatyards. The church was dedicated by Bishop John Hughes on December 2, 1849. Kein resigned the pastorate in 1852 due to poor health and was briefly succeeded by Thomas Martin O.P. Rev. Thomas J. Mooney was appointed pastor in 1853. "In its early years, St. Brigid’s served as a haven for Irish immigrants fleeing the famine, and later as a stalwart presence for the ever-changing immigrant populations to the neighborhood, from the Polish and Germans, to Ukrainians and Puerto Ricans."
Fr. Mooney and "the Fighting 69th" The second pastor of the church, the Reverend Thomas Mooney, also served as chaplain to the nearby 69th New York State Militia. Upon its formation in 1851 it was called the 2nd Regiment of Irish Volunteers, a citizen-militia made up of Irish-Catholic diaspora from the Great Irish Famine. Father Mooney travelled with the 69th to Virginia and was beloved by the men for his spirit and sagacious counsel. Fr.Mooney held daily Masses for the regiment and served as confessor for the largely Catholic regiment. The regimental choir was headed by Capt. Maxwell O'Sullivan, formerly the choirmaster at St. Brigid's church. Mooney was lauded for his establishment of a temperance society and for encouraging many wayward souls to return to the Faith.
Father Mooney was recalled by New York Archbishop John "Dagger" Hughes in response to Mooney's baptism of a 64 lb. Columbiad cannon. Archbishop Hughes later suggested that Mooney was recalled after climbing the flagstaff of Fort Corcoran. Mooney was in the process of straightening an American flag that became stuck during a flag raising ceremony. Mooney's return was much bemoaned by the men of the regiment, but Mooney was warmly welcomed on his return to the city by 4,000 parishioners assembled in Tompkins Square.
During the New York City draft riots of July 1863, Mooney organized a neighborhood group to counter the federal troops sent to New York. When the 69th returned to New York following the Bull Run Campaign, Mooney marched at the head of the regiment. On August 14, 1861 a Requiem Mass was held for the men of the 69th NYSM who had been killed in action. The St. Brigid's choir sang Mozart's Requiem during the service. Fr. Mooney was conspicuously present at all future Irish Brigade functions and was much beloved by the men who survived to remember him.
A special feature of the New York Times in 1901, mentioned the church among other Catholic structures in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, describing the group "for the most part ... limit[ing] themselves to the functions of a parish church, in districts where social needs are otherwise supplied." The article clarified that the upper church was Irish and the basement used by Italians. In addition, the Sisters of Charity had a convent next door to the church, and there was an attached parochial school.
Fr. Kuhn and the Tompkins Square riot
During the 1988 Tompkins Square Park Riot, the church allowed homeless advocates and protesters of the police action to mobilize under its roof. A year later, when a shantytown in the park was dismantled, church pastor Rev. George Kuhn led a group of parishioners taking food to protesters and homeless people holed up in an abandoned school on East 4th Street. Father Kuhn was arrested when he defied orders not to cross a police line to deliver the food, saying, "I'm working under orders, too. The order I have is to feed the hungry, and that comes from a higher authority." St. Brigid's Church served as a place for protesters to organize and receive medical attention during the riot.