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By 1760 (fifteen years after the Jacobite uprising and the Battle of Culloden) half the population of Greenock was Gaelic, many Gaels having come from Argyll and Bute in search of work in the shipyards and sugar refineries. The church and hall on Jamaica Street were opened in 1843 (the year of The Disruption Link ) to serve the growing Gaelic community in Greenock. There were already other Gaelic churches in the town at that time.

The following extract is from the Post-Office Greenock directory for 1869-1870:-

FREE GAELIC CHURCH— Jamaica Street.
Rev. John Kennedy — Chosen by the Members of the Church.
James Eraser, Precentor. John Fraser, Church Officer.
Hugh Buie, Session Clerk.
Archibald Brown, Treasurer to Deacons' Court.
James Brown, Clerk to Deacons' Court.
John Bruce, Treasurer of Sustentation Fund.
Angus Sinclair, Treasurer of Schoolmasters' Fund.
A Prayer Meeting is held in the Hall adjoining the Church on
Wednesday evenings at 7.30, in Gaelic, and on Thursday evenings,
at eight o'clock, in English,. There is in the Church a Sabbath
Evening School, attendance about 179 ; and in the Session-house
a Bible Class, taught by one of the office-bearers. There is also a
Missionary School in Main Street, Cartsdyke, attendance about
120. Bible Classes, taught by Mr Kennedy, meet in the Hall on
Monday evenings at 8 o'clock.
There is a Liarary (sic) in connection with the Church, open to the
members and adherents every Thursday evening at 7.30 p m.
A Gaelic Prayer Meeting every Sabbath evening in the Hall at
half-past six, also in the Mission Station, Main street, at 7 o'clock.

After falling into disuse, the building was used for many years as a furniture store.

Sadly, the building was badly damaged by fire on the evening of 27th December 2018 and was demolished in the following days due to its dangerous condition. At the time of the fire it was in use as a storage and removals warehouse.

Created: Sat, 16 Feb 2019, Updated: Sat, 23 Feb 2019