Clonard House was a large two storied detached building, set in beautiful parkland of trees, shrubs and green fields, comprising in all fourteen acres. It was approached by a drive way that was entered through large gates, north of the present O'Neill – Odessa Street crossing. This property was originally held by the brothers Victor and James Kennedy, local businessmen engaged in the spinning of flax and tow. But by 1896 it had become the possession of Messrs. James McConnell B Co., Estate Agents. They had acquired the land for building and were already planning the future network of streets that would stretch from Dunmore Street to Cupar Street. It was intended to build a street that would continue the driveway and thus necessitate the pulling down of Clonard House. On the east side of the property was a mill dam which provided water for Clonard Print works then situated on the present site of Lawther B Harvey's near Ross's Mill. On the south and east the property was bounded by a row of mills that stretched from the Springfield to Cupar Street, – the Blackstaff, Milford, Ross's, Clonard Print works and Grieve's. Bishop Henry personally approached McConnell with a view to the purchase of Clonard House and some of the fourteen acres. The estate agents agreed and so the Bishop acquired the house and a strip of land around the dam – in all three and a half acres. The transaction called for a change in the proposed direction of the new street – the future Clonard Gardens – so that it would run between the house and the mill dam. The purchase money was £2,360 plus a head rent to Mr. Kennedy of £100 per annum. The Bishop gave the Redemptorists possession of Clonard House as a temporary residence at £50 per annum, and on October 31st., he and the new Superior, Father Patrick Griffith, took formal possession of it. Troubles The joy of the Founder of Clonard at acquiring a new home for his congregation was short-lived. Years afterwards he said, "I doubt if ever a more troublesome piece of property was acquired." First there was the threat from those who resented the building of a Roman Catholic Monastery and Church that would seem to dominate their homes in the Shankill. This threat became very real in the winter of 1899 and for several days and nights, local men patrolled the area to defend the Monastery should it be attacked. Then there were disputes concerning the northern and eastern boundaries of the property. However, these were quickly resolved. Not so a dispute about the ownership of the mill dam which was in the centre of the property. This was both acrimonious and prolonged. Actually it took nearly seven years to resolve ending with the purchase of the dam from Clonard Print Works for £800. Early days The first Mass in Clonard House was celebrated on November 1st, the Feast of All Saints, at 9.00 a.m. The celebrant was Father Griffith: his server was Father Walter Lambert, then near the end of a long missionary career. The altar was a common deal table. The only ornament was a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The news that Mass was being said in Clonard House travelled fast and when Father Lambert came to celebrate the room was full of people. After Mass Father Griffith, standing on a soap box covered with a canvas, spoke to the people telling them that the Mother of Perpetual Succour had come to set up a new sanctuary among them. On Sunday November 15th, the Blessed Sacrament was reserved in the large room on the ground floor that served as a chapel. Masses were said on Sundays at 9.00, 10.00, 11.00 and 12 noon. There were evening devotions, too. The services were always crowded. The same was true of the week-day Masses. During each day Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and the Mother of Perpetual Succour had many a devout visitor. In those first months it was a real sacrifice to come to Clonard as there was no street leading to the house and no light in the winter darkness. People used to walk along a plank and make their way with the help of a couple of stable lamps laid on the ground. Attendance at the evening devotions was as remarkable as at the Masses of the morning. Many came half an hour, and some an hour, before the time and remained standing or kneeling until all was over. They were introduced to community singing with the help of an old harmonium which was given as a present and took to it with great enthusiasm. Thus was forged the first link of the chain of mutual esteem and devoted loyalty that has bound together the Redemptorists and the Catholic people of Belfast.