Our History

This church remained in use for over a century, but during that time is was modified on several occasions. In 1916 a bell tower was added at a cost of £114. Three times each day the bell was rung manually to announce the Angelus, until the tower was removed in the 1970s. By that time the old church had fallen into disrepair, but it was also unsuited to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. For that reason, the Parish Priest Father Mansfield launched an ambitious campaign to replace it. Through their generosity and energetic fundraising, the people of Coolock raised £80,000.The fundraising campaign included planned giving, cake sales, bingo and many more events. Many individuals and groups donated seats, shrines and vestments in order to build and fit out the present church, which was dedicated to St Brendan by Archbishop Dermot Ryan in July 1974. Yet conscious of the tradition of worship on the site, efforts were made to save as much of the old church as possible and it has subsequently been cleverly converted into a parish centre of which the community can be exceptionally proud.

The 1990s brought further changes to the parish. In 1990, Canon Patrick O’Farrell went to his reward. Much loved by the people of Coolock, Fr O’Farrell was famous not only for his enthralling sermons, which were continued from Sunday to Sunday and usually contained entertaining updated accounts of biblical stories. Perhaps even more famous was the holy man’s faithful dog, Skippy who was the best loved dog in the world. When Canon O’Farrell went on school visits , Skippy was given the teacher’s chair, where he sat patiently listening to the story telling. Then as soon as he heard the words “and they all lived happily ever after” Skippy headed for the door in the sure knowledge that his time in the classroom was over. Fr O’Farrell’s passing marked the end of an era and within a few years the Archbishop entrusted the parish to the care of the Marists.