Church of the Real Presence, Curraheen Road

History

The site at Curraheen Road, Bishopstown, was blessed and named the Church of the Real Presence by the Bishop of Cork and Ross in 1972, and the completed church was opened by him on 29 September 1973, the feast of the Archangels. The site, on an elevated position with a public road on three sides, had been offered to the parish some years earlier by private donors. The church was designed by Petit and Partners.

The building

The church was built to a basic square plan, chosen to give a simple, modern and economic building in keeping with the housing development around it. The roof is raised in the middle, producing three large triangular windows fitted with anti-glare glass. The ceiling is covered in Parana pine and the inner walls are finished in coloured brick. A steel spire rises from the site and can be seen from most parts of the area.

The church seats over 850. The altar, the ambo and the baptismal font are of chiselled limestone. At the back of the building are a priests' sacristy, a combined work sacristy and altar boys' room, a mortuary and a large meeting room.