Undated sketch, artist unknown, shows church with stubby spire.
Kilmacud Church - Draft
NAME St Laurence O'Toole's Church/Old Kilmacud Church
AREA LOCATION Lower Kilmacud Road
MAP LOCATION OSI map of 1898-1913 place it in the townland of Kilmacud East and it is
annotated as Catholic Church.
GENERAL It was not until the disestablishment act of 1869 the parishes could borrow
from the state for the acquisition of glebes and glebe houses.
In 1865 a decision to endow a Chapel of Ease for Stillorgan and Kilmacud was taken by the Very
Rev Monsignor Canon Forde, DD, PP, Vicar General. Land was donated by Robert Hoey to build a
church at Kilmacud according to parish magazine of 1984 (but no deed has been found between
1860 and 1869). According to the Rev N Donnelly, DD, Lord Bishop of Canea, in his short histories
of 1906, part of the church was built from the schoolhouse under the charge of the sisters of Mercy
in Booterstown as the school was no longer required. £youwho500 was raised by subscription and £650
was borrowed.
In 1866 a Grand Prize Drawing was held to raise money to finish the Church of St Laurence O’Toole.
Tickets were 1d or 2d and prizes on offer included a piano, a gold watch, a chest of tea and 3 tons of
coal. Rev N Donnelly refers to the Church as being called SS Laurence and Cuthbert at Kilmacud and that
a presbytery was also built at this time. The Church opened with a Vincentian Mission in 1868. The
granite church was opened and dedicated to St Laurence & St Cuthbert in May 1867 according to 1984
Parish Magazine. Thom’s directories of 1868 onwards refer to it as St Laurence O’Toole’s R C Church
and there is no mention of St Cuthbert. Parish registers refer to it as Kilmacud Chapel. In 1887
Christopher Palles presented a valuable service of plate to the church and erected a memorial window
to his wife. In 1888 parish debt was £1100 and Archbishop Walsh offered to subscribe £500 (from the
residue of Monsignor Farrell’s assets that had been bequeathed to him) if the parishioners would
subscribe £600. By Christmas of the following year the condition was met. Lord Pembroke subscribed
£200 and Chief Baron Palles subscribed £100. Circa 1952 an extension to the Church was built to
accommodate growing numbers, this extension housed a Eucharistic window. It had a small spire
which is no longer extant.
After the new Church of St Laurence O’Toole was built in 1969, the old church was used as a parish
hall and the presbytery used as a scout den. In 1985 Kevin Harington, a local historian
photographed the church, including the windows, these photos are now held by the Architectural
Archives at Merrion Square.
YEAR BUILT circa 1866
ARCHITECT Unknown
VALUATION No valuation has been found for the church, but the presbytery was
valued at 12.10 pounds in 1901 and in the 1911 census it is noted as
having 5 rooms.
SOURCES Thom's, contemporaneous newspapers and OSI Maps
Clergy
1866 - 1883 Rev James Daniel Rooney, curate (living at Presbytery from 1882)
1879 New parish of Dundrum and Stillorgan founded
1883 - 1884 Rev Richard Quinn, cc (living at presbytery)
1885 - 1889 Rev James J Keon (living at presbytery
1879 - 1889 Rev Joseph Hickey, Parish Priest of Dundrum & Kilmacud
1889 Rev Edward Matthews, Parish Priest of Dundrum & Kilmacud
1891 - 1892 Rev James Martyn, cc (living as presbytery)
1894 Rev James Hickey, cc
1894 - 1895 Rev Michael Hogan, cc
1896 - 1907 Rev Robert Carrick, cc transferred to Baldoyle
1907 - 1914 Rev Daniel Hickey (living at Presbytery)
1910 Rev Edward Morrissey
1917 Rev Maurice O'Shea
1919 - 1922 Rev Denis Joseph M’Grath, CC (living at presbytery)
1925 - 1944 Rev Matthew Blake (at presbytery)
1945 Rev Brendan Carbury
1949 Parish of Kilmacud & Mount Merrion formed
1950 Rev P Dargan, CC
1949 - 1952 Rev John Ryan PP (Kilmacud and Mount Merrion) - RIP 1952
1952 - 1956 Rev J Deery, PP (Kilmacud and Mount Merrion)
1953 - 1962 Rev R Walsh, CC
1957 Revised version of the film short 'A parish is born' is shown locally
1961 - 1967 Rev S Clune, PP (Kilmacud and Mount Merrion)
1963 Rev J Callan, CC
1964 Parish of Kilmacud formed
1964 - 1969 Rev Brendan Harley, PP
1964 Rev Fr Callaghan, CC
1968 Church in use as Parish Hall
1970 Hall in use by School for PE & Choir practice
1976 - 1979 Youth Club
1972 CBSI - 62nd, 71st Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Ventures plus Ireland's first
Airscout troop (90th) from mid 1980's and 90th cubscouts
Girl Guides
1985 Church sold
Sacristans etc
1950 Denis Reid (Hon Sec of the St Laurence Committee of Social Assistance)
1967 Henry (Harry) Harkin
1980's Teresa Byrne
Businesses
1992 Application to install mezzanine
1986 - 2003 Stillorgan Funeral Home
? Arch to Stillorgan Funeral Home removed
1995 Planning permission sought
1992 - 2003 Michael Collins Cars
1995 - 1999 Future Kids
1996 Planning permission sought (for change of use)
1996 - 1997 Protea Pine
1997 Planning permission sought (to enclose roofed area)
1998 - 2019 Extracare Service Ltd/Television Repairs
1999 - 2011 Top Drawer – Tony Fenton
2011 - 2018 Fitzcycles
1999 - 2003 D & L Salon Services/Holdings Ltd
2006 - 2017 Lynx Financial Services, Lynx House
1993 - 1995 Get Fresh
1999 - 2022 Fruitworld
2013 - 2022 Midas Hairdressers
2011 - 2022 Platinum Pilates
2021 - 2022 Bear Market
STAFF
1901 Julia Sherry
1911 Bridget Stafford
New Church (Colloquial known as Harley's Hanger)
The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity donated a site, and the Church of St Laurence O’Toole was opened
on 14 Dec 1969 by the Archbishop Most Rev John Charles McQuaid. Architect were Stephenson Gibney & Associates
and in 2016 it was renovated GKMP Architects
1964 - 1977 Ver Rev Fr A Matthews, PP (living at presbytery)?
1969 - 1981 Canon Brendan Harley - lived beside Dr Meades surgery on the Upper Kilmacud Road was transferred from Haddington Road. Ne Temere decree issue in 1950.
1970's Father Nevin - lived in Allen Park
Father Cody
1970's Father Walsh
1978 Rev James Kelly, CC
1981 - 1995 Monsignor Val Rogers
1995 - 2007 Fr Michael Loftus
2007 Fr Liam Lacey
2010 Fr Tony Coote
CURRENT
STATUS Both builds are still estant
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE November 2022