St. Thomas the Apostle

History

When a new church was planned for the parish, parishioners were invited to visit churches around the city and country and to photograph them. They then met two firms of architects and presented their ideas within a budget of half a million pounds. The architects returned with two sets of designs, which were displayed for a couple of weeks in the prefabricated church on the nearby site, and the parish chose between them; the Parish Development Committee took the decision.

The church was designed by Edward N. Smith & Kennedy and built by Matthew Wallace, Builders, of Wellingtonbridge, Co. Wexford. It was opened on 6 June 1993 by Archbishop Desmond Connell.

The building

The church seats 600 and has a courtyard. As well as the church itself, the building contains a day chapel and community room, together with a parish office and sacristy.

Notable features

An eight foot high triple stained glass window of the Immaculate Conception, from the Harry Clarke studios, was donated to the parish by the Dominican Sisters in Dún Laoghaire on the closure of their convent, and was restored before being built into the church. The Dominican Sisters also gave a white marble carving of Our Lady giving the Rosary to St Catherine and St Dominic, carved in the late nineteenth century by the father of Padraig and Willie Pearse at his stoneworks on the Dublin street later named after the family, Pearse Street. The stations of the cross are in stained glass.