The priest who celebrated Masses in the Church of Our Lady, Harryville, Co Antrim, through 41 weeks of loyalist protest has left Ballymena. After more than four years in the town, Father Frank Mullan (71) has been posted to St John's parish on the Falls Road in Belfast.
Father Mullan, born in Coleraine, Co Derry, was thrust into the media spotlight when his church came under loyalist siege on Saturday evenings.
Despite attacks on the parochial house which he had to leave, his car being burned, and suffering sectarian verbal abuse when the protests took place, Father Mullan said he will leave behind many friends, both Catholic and Protestant.
"I'm sad at having to leave Ballymena. I've made a lot of friends here and it's not easy leaving them behind. I'd like to thank people like Judith Byrne and the ladies from Women Together for Peace who gave us magnificent support through rain, hail and snow," he said.
"Nobody thought it would last as long as it did. It became a routine . . . Some nights were very nasty with violence and intimidation . . .
"There were riotous scenes, but it was the people coming to the church in their cars I felt sorry for. They were sitting ducks."
Father Mullan also singled out Mr Robert Saulters, Grand Master of the Orange Order, and the Ulster Unionist Mayor of Ballymena, Mr James Currie, for showing their solidarity. He also praised the recent decision by Orange lodges to reroute contentious parades.
Loyalists organised the Harryville protest last October in response to Orange Order and Apprentice Boys parades being banned in Dunloy. The Dunloy Residents and Parents Association has maintained the loyal orders may march if they negotiate an arrangement with them.
Nevertheless, heavy policing was required to allow Catholics to get to their church at Harryville, as regular rioting flared during Saturday-evening Mass.
"Preventing people getting to church is a flagrant abuse of people's rights. The people of Dunloy were never prevented from going to their Presbyterian church. I don't know why they don't sit down and talk," said the priest.
Father Mullan spent the 1960s in Nigeria doing mission work before returning to Dublin and eventually being posted to Dunstable, England. After suffering a heart attack in 1990 he was sent to Northern Ireland to recover, a decision, he reflects, that now seems ironic.
The violence of the protests led to clergy and parishioners deciding to suspend Saturday Mass over the summer months, the height of the marching season.
"I was surprised at how well the congregation accepted the idea. It was in the interests of peace that we decided to choose not to exercise our right to worship. We were trying to build peace. Perhaps others could learn from this."
The fortified chapel in Harryville has survived many assaults. Mass begins again on September 6th. Protesters say they will be back.