A CLOUGH school has honoured the memory of a much-loved local minister with a tree planting ceremony. Cumran Primary School pupils from the school’s Eco Council planted a tree on the school grounds in memory of the late Rev Adrian Adger.
There is also a commemorative stone placed alongside it to mark the occasion. Rev Adger passed away in January 2021 at the age of 57 after dealing with cancer. Rev Adger was the minister of both Clough Presbyterian and Seaforde Presbyterian churches. He had also written two books after receiving his cancer diagnosis. Ailsa Brown is the school’s Eco Coordinator. She said that the school wanted to By Julie McLaughlin julie@mourneobserver.com remember Rev Adger and his role in the local area in this way.
As a local minister, Rev Adger was often at the school to lead school assemblies and would attend other events as well. “Myself and pupils from our Eco Council thought it would be a fitting tribute to Rev Adger to plant a tree in his memory as he was a part of our school community,” she said. “The memorial stone was made by Richard Rooney of RLR Stoneworks, a parent of a pupil in our school.”
Rev Adger’s wife Karen Adger attended the tree planting ceremony. “I am so deeply touched by the genuine thoughtfulness of this memorial to Adrian. Mrs Rhonda Moles, Mrs Ailsa Brown, Mrs Pamela McDade, the staff and children at Cumran Primary and in particular the children in SCU1 and Year 7 have been an amazing support to me,” she said. “My sincere thanks to everyone for their love and care, and for keeping Adrian’s memory alive in the community that was his life and our home.” She said that she and her husband always felt welcomed by the Cumran Primary School community. “When Adrian and I moved to Clough and Seaforde in June 2015, we both knew that we wanted to be part of the community and that included the local Cumran Primary School,” she said. “Adrian loved every invitation he got to take school assembly, and we both enjoyed other events together like Christmas plays and sports days.”
She said that Adrian got along well with the school staff, including Cumran principal Rhonda Moles. “Rhonda has shared with me memories of Adrian’s hearty laugh from conversations they had at school. I also recall times at home hearing him laugh from upstairs in his study, and he would have been on a phone call with Mrs Moles. To know he was thought of so much in school has been a comfort to me,” Karen added.
