Our History

The nineteenth century saw an improvement in conditions for Irish Catholics and this revival is best reflected in the wave of chapel building which swept the country. In 1815 the foundation was laid for the magnificent Pro Cathedral, in Marlborough Street. In Coolock, too, the revival saw the erection of a new thatched chapel in 1820. Eleven years later, this was replaced by a larger chapel, (the foundation stone of which is now in the garden of the Community Centre). It would be wrong, however to believe that the church in Coolock was well established. In many respects, conditions in Coolock resembled a mission station. A report to Archbishop Murray in 1831 indicated that the new chapel was incomplete because of lack of funds. Before long, however it was completed. Lewis’s Topographical Directory of Ireland, published 1837, contains a description the chapel: ‘erected in 1831, at an expense of £800, raised by subscription, it is a very neat edifice, in the later English style, with a belfry over the principal entrance; the interior is very well arranged and neatly decorated.’ Still, the report to Dr Murray in 1831 indicated that there was only one Mass on Sunday ‘when the chapel was open’ and there were no confirmations in the parish. There was a parish priest and a curate, but they relied on the support of lay people who taught catechism to the children in the chapel each Sunday morning.