Ahorey Presbyterian Church Co. Armagh

The organ in Ahorey Presbyterian Church Co. Armagh was installed in 1963 by George C Barlow of Essex and was a collection of old cinema organ parts badly put together by an amateur (to put it kindly).

There were 2 main chambers with 3 ranks in each and a roofspace above the chamcel with 2 more ranks. This was all controlled from a 3 manual and pedal Compton console.

By the 1990s only 2 ranks were able to be maintained and the organ was long past the stage for reliable use. The church decided in 2007 to replace it with a better quality pipe organ and at the same time remodel the front area of the church relocating the pulpit to the centre where the console had been.

The Walker extension organ from a closed church in Londonderry was deemed the most suitable replacement instrument. Some parts of it had been damaged or lost by the builders who removed it from the Londonderry church so the best parts of the old Ahorey organ were kept in their place and also a few extra parts to enlarge the organ.

These parts included the 2 Wurlitzer swell fronts which remained in place, the 3 stage blower in an outbuilding, the Compton Tuba rank (from the Palace Cinema Ramsgate) and the bottom octave Diaphone 16' which was kept as a bass to the Walker Trumpet rank.

Both consoles were unsuitable so another console from a church in Larne was restored with new keyboards and new stop units.

A new solid-state transmission system was installed and the whole organ fully refurbished with new electro-magnets and wiring throughout.