| Friends,
I
am pleased to welcome you to the website of the
Parish of St. Thomas the
Apostle. Here it is hoped that you will find many useful
resources. These include:
Where
is it?
It is in west Dublin between the M50 on the east and the Maynooth/West
of Ireland railway on the west. It stretches from the roundabout
on
the Navan Road, goes south through the Castleknock Road, across to
the Carpenterstown Road and almost down to the back of Castleknock
College. In 1982 it was constituted from the Catholic parish of Castleknock.
Castleknock is in turn one of the ten parishes which were 'mothered'
by the parish of St. Brigid in Blanchardstown.
The parish is
composed of the estates of Laurel Lodge, Carpenterstown Park, Bramley,
Oaktree, Laverna and Ashleigh. The Primary School is a co-ed, with
almost 1,000 children and 35 teachers. The Community Centre on a
site donated by the parish was built and is managed by the Castleknock
Community Centre Association.
Finding Us
On the Web: You can find us on Google Maps at 53.377222, -6.377361. Our actual location is 53.22.37N 6.22.40W
By Car: We are close to junction 6 on the M50.
By Train: We are close to Castleknock Railway Station.
By Bus: The route 37 bus goes through the estate, but the 38 and 38A go close to the estate.
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The
Church
It is a 600 seater community designed church with a welcoming courtyard.
It was designed by Joseph Kennedy of Edward N. Smith & Kennedy
and built by Matthew Wallace, Builders, Wellingtonbridge, Co. Wexford.
It was opened on 6th June, 1993 by Archbishop Desmond Connell.
As
well as the church proper it features a Day Chapel/Community
Room with a Parish Office and Sacristy.
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A
very impressive feature of the church is the eight foot high
triple stained glass Harry Clarke studios window of the Immaculate
Conception which was donated to the parish by the Dominican
Sisters in Dun Laoghaire when sadly their convent there closed
down. |
In
church there is an interesting white marble carving depicting
Our Lady giving the Rosary to St. Catherine and St. Dominic, also
donated by the Dominican Sisters. It was carved in the late 19th
century by Padraig and Willie Pearse's father in his stoneworks
situated on the street now called after that family - Pearse Street.
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St. Thomas the Apostle - Who was he?
He was one of the twelve apostles. The one who doubted that Jesus had truly risen from the dead because he was not there to see him on the first occasion he appeared to the assembled disciples. The next time Jesus appeared Thomas was there and he invited him to put his hand into his side and his finger into the marks of the nails and Thomas then believed and confessed the famous words "My Lord and My God" and Jesus said to him "You believe because you have see Thomas, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
The people of the parish have a great sense of pride and ownership because when plans were afoot to build a new church they were invited to visit churches throughout the city and country bringing their cameras with them. Those who did so later met with two firms of architects and presented their ideas within a budget of half a million pounds. The architects took them on board and then in due time came back with two sets of designs which were displayed for a couple of weeks in the old prefab church on the nearby site. The people made their choice. The Parish Development Committee made the decision and the rest is history.
Eugene Kennedy, retired Parish Priest.
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