Parishes Face Problems

17 Aug 1974

By PATRICK MURRAY

THE-months ahead are full of problems for the parish priests of Dublin’s two newest parishes. Although the new parishes of Priorswood and Mount Argus appear to be totally different, both have presented their new pastors with major tasks.

The most serious and urgent problems are in Priorswood, off Malahide Rd., where Very Rev. Colga O’Riordan, O.F.M.Cap., has been appointed parish priest.

At present, he has no church, no school and no community centre. Fewer than one in nine of the houses in the parish are inhabited. There are 50 old houses in the parish and 400 new ones, of which only six are occupied.

NEW FAMILIES

But soon there will soon be 1,400 new families living there. Father O’ Riordan hopes to get a house in the parish before the new parishioners arrival “I would like to be there to greet them,” he said.

For the moment, Father O’ Riordan will operate his new parish from Donnybrook parish church. No plans for the new church and school have yet been made; but he said that the first task he will face will be to have talks with an architect. When this was done, and plans for the school and church drawn up, a fund-raising campaign would be started.

When the proposed new housing estates are occupied, Father O’Riordan will get two curates, also Capuchins, who will help run the parish.

YOUTH FACILITIES

The problems facing the new parish priest in Mount Argus, Very Rev. Ralph Egan, C.P., may not seem to be as immense: he has a church, and the parish does not need schools.

“But there are no facilities for youth in the area,” Father Egan points out. “This, I think, will be the first major task I face. I would like to get a community centre of some sort built. But I will work in close co-operation with the nearby parishes of Harold’s Cross and Clogher Road”. Father Egan does not believe the Church has enough manpower or resources to tackle the problems of youth on its own. “For that reason, I will work a!so in co-operation with the statutory bodies who are already working in the. area.” he said.

OPINION POLL

The first item on the agenda for Father Egan and his two curates, Rev. John F. Morris, C.P., and Rev. Raymond Kearns, C.P., will be to visit all the families in the new parish. They have been “moved” from older parishes mostly from Larkfield Grove. Kimmage, Crumlin and Poddle Park.

As well as getting to know the new parishioners, Father Egan and the curates hope to carry out a sort of opinion poll to find out what the Parishioners consider to be the major needs in the new parish.

The creation of the two new parishes brings to 157 the number of parishes in the Dublin diocese.

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