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This website is currently being updated so please be patient till we get it right.
In the meantime, below you will see samples of upcoming or ongoing parish and local events, activities and services
and the menu on the left will give you access to a lot of useful information about our parish.
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Welcome to the Parish of Firhouse
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CÉAD MÍLE FÁILTE
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A warm welcome to all, especially to those who have moved into our parish in recent times.
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Within its outer walls, our mostly glass church with its surrounding seasonal gardens is an oasis of quiet,
"far from the madding crowd." Here, people can come into the presence of the Jesus, alone or with others,
to pray, to worship, to prepare for or celebrate sacraments, to commemorate those who have died or to simply
sit in peace before the tabernacle. This is an awesome privilege. In the hustle and bustle of modern life
with its non-stop noise of traffic, machinery, computers, phones, radio, television, shops, sport and even
conversation, it's nice to know that in this sacred space prayer gets priority and the Lord is always here for us.
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Upcoming Activities/Events
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'Current Activities'''
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Website Links and Phone Apps Relevant Now
Click on the "Useful Links" page (on the left of this screen) for links to Bible Websites,
Prayer Websites, Church Websites and Charities Websites and especially to some really good smart
phone apps for children or adults including Bible Apps.
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'Parish Choir
Rehearsals continue each Sunday morning at 10.15 in the church in preparation for the
11.00.a.m. Mass. We are appealing for new members as we have had not had any new members
recently and some members have retired. Can you help us? You don't have to be a Bocelli, a Pavarotti,
a Callas, a te Kanawa. You only need to be able to sing moderately well like most people and maybe
like to sing. St. Augustine said regarding singing in church: “. . . whoever sings prays twice." With this
in mind, if you think you would like to help our choir enhance our liturgies
please contact Ray at: 087-9195012. We'd really appreciate it. Also, see below -
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Do you play an instrument? If you play the guitar, fiddle, accordion or indeed any
instrument you are invited to play with the parish choir on Sundays at 11.00.a.m. Mass.
Contact Ray at 087-9195012 for more information.
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Previous Activities/Events
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Phase II of Church Refurbishment
Recent works included the reconfiguration of the main church entrance and porch, the development of Resource
Rooms at the back of the church and provision of universal access toilet facilities. The changes should make the space
at the back of he church more usable, more suitable for parish small group activities and more independeltly accessible,
regardless of whether the church itself is open. The addition of tea/coffee making facilities adds versatility necessary for
these activities. This work follows Phase 1, now complete, which involved replacing the low level glass in the church with
safer, higher standard glass due to health and safety requirements and also replacement of steps to the entrance nearest
to the shopping centre, improving the lighting in the altar area and other more minor works. If funds permit, we hope to
paint the inside of the church soon.
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Sad News - September 2017
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Sadly, the death has occurred of Jimmy Whelan, our much-loved, long-serving (22 years) and retired sacristan. Jimmy was very involved in the parish and the local community over the years, as was his wife Bridie, R.I.P. He was a regular contributor to parish newsletters, with many fascinating historical accounts of the area before it became built up. Jimmy received the Benemerenti Medal, a rare honour awarded by the Pope to members of clergy or laity for service to the Catholic Church (see below). He will be sadly missed not only by family and friends but also more generally in the parish. Jimmy's funeral Mass took place at 10.00.a.m. on Sat 16th September. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
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Thank You to our Volunteer Distributors!
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Safeguarding Information Meeting
"Knowledge is Power": All parish volunteers, regardless of whether they deal directly with children or not, are now required to attend one safeguarding information meeting. For any volunteers who were not able to attend one of our three previous safeguarding information meetings, and because this is urgent, there was one more such meeting on Wednesday 10th May at 8.00.p.m. in the church. It was very informative. Did you know that most child abuse takes the form of neglect? Did you know that vulnerable adults are now covered by safeguarding legislation? Do you know why parish volunteers need to be Gárda vetted even if they don't deal directly with children. These and other questions were addressed and clarified on the night. We will have to have one more such information meeting in the Autumn.
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Sad News - April 2017
We were shocked and saddened by news of the sudden death of Fr. Pádraig Coleman, O.F.M.,
who served as chaplain in Firhouse parish for 11 years from 2005 until last Autumn, 2016. We were
truly blessed to have Fr. Pádraig with us for these years and we miss him since his transfer to
Sandymount last September. We offer our condolences to his family and to his colleague Franciscans
who no doubt miss him too. Ar dheis Dé sa bhflaitheas go raibh a anam.
Fr. Pádraig's funeral Mass took place at 10.30.a.m. on Monday 24th April in the Church of the Immaculate
Conception (commonly known as Adam & Eve's Church) Merchant's Quay, Dublin and was followed by
burial in Shanganagh Cemetery.
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More Sad News - April 2017
We were deeply saddened by news that, after a long illness that he bore with great dignity, our previous
parish priest, Fr. Colm Matthews has died. Fr. Colm served as parish priest in our parish from 1995
to 2004 before moving to Holy Rosary parish nearby. Having served previously as army chaplain in the
Congo and spent time in the mission fields in Chile, Fr. Colm brought many gifts to our parish when he
came here. He is fondly remembered by everyone who knew him. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Fr. Colm's Funeral Mass took place at 10.00.a.m. on Tuesday 2nd May in Holy Rosary Church, Ballycragh,
his final parish, where he served as a curate after leaving Firhouse.
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Not One Benemerenti Medal but Two
While the Benemerenti Medal is a rare honour awarded by the Pope to members of
clergy or laity for service to the Catholic Church, it is a source of great joy and pride for
our parish that two of our parishioners have received this award.
One is Jimmy Whelan, our much-loved, long-serving (22 years) and now retired sacristan. Jimmy's
contribution to our parish over the years has been immense. He is pictured with current parish priest
Fr. Peter Reilly, previous parish priest Fr. Paddy Madden and previous parish chaplain Fr. Padraig Coleman R.I.P.
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The other deserving recipient of this award is Nuala O'Toole. Nuala has been a faithful servant of this
parish since its foundation and has been involved in various ministries and on various active committees
over the years. Equally happy with a "Martha" or a ""Mary" role, whatever she undertakes gets done. She
has always been an enthusiastic, positive, dedicated and inspirational and above all a faithful figure. She is
pictured with our parish priest, Fr. Peter O'Reilly.
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Gárda Vetting Blitz
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"V-V" Day for Gárda Vetting of Volunteers: After all Masses on the weekend of 29th/30th April our safeguarding representatives were present in the room at the back of the church to help parish volunteers check whether they need to be Gárda vetted/re-vetted and if they did, to give them the vetting forms and information page necessary for this. Parish volunteers who needed to be Gárda vetted were invited to return the completed forms and other necessary documents either after 6.00.p.m. Mass on Saturday, 6th April or after 12.00.p.m. Mass on Sunday 7th April, with our safeguarding representatives present to assist them, and to have them copied and signed off by Fr. Peter. Those who were unable to avail of this facility will need to return the completed forms and other relevant documents to Fr. Peter as soon as possible.
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Events for Lent
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Stations of the Cross - Each Wednesday of Lent, after 10.00.a.m. Mass we had the traditional Stations
of the Cross in the church. While we all "fall short of the glory of God," Jesus, who never sinned, was still
prepared to endure huge suffering in atonement for our failings. The Stations describe that suffering.
They indicate just how much God loves us and by meditating on them they helped us to realise this.
Being aware of this can change lives for the better. Sincere thanks to those who led us so wonderfully
in the Stations each Wednesday.
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Lenten Reflection ("Lectio Divina") - There was a Lenten service with quiet prayer time and some shared scripture readings and reflections on Monday nights during Lent. This took place in the meeting room behind the altar in the church, from 8.00.p.m. to 9.00.p.m. each Monday. Lectio Divina is a simple easy spiritual exercise for a group where we (a) read, listen to and reflect on a text from God's Word in scripture (b) perhaps share with the group whatever strikes us from the text but even if we do not be inspired by what strikes others (c) consider what the text meant for Jesus' disciples and listeners 2,000 years ago and (d) consider how it might apply to our lives today. We hope those who attended each week found it beneficial. We think they did.
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"Yes to Life"
Yes to Life visits Firhouse - On Monday evening 20th February two representatives of
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Evening of Prayer
On Thursday 1st December at 7.30 p.m. we hosted an Evening of Prayer based on the Evening Prayer Programme at the Marian Shrine of Medjugorje. There was a time of praying the Rosary, Celebration of Mass, Eucharistic Adoration including Prayer for Healing and Blessing with the Blessed Sacrament. Some of the Official Guides in Medjugorje were with us and there was a talk from them about the Marian Shrine of Medjugorje.
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Sad News
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At Mass on Monday 14th November Fr. Peter announced the sad news of the sudden death in Kenya of Fr. Martin Murnaghan.
Fr. Martin retired from parish work in Sandymount this autumn and came to live in Firhouse. From here he went to Kenya just a few weeks 
later to undertake six month of active ministry. He hoped to do this each year God gave him the health and the energy. He was not in active
ministry in Firhouse but he helped out when he could for the few weeks he was with us and in that time his gentle demeanour and winning
smile endeared him to us. We were looking forward to his return in April. While he hoped to complete six months in Kenya and then return
to Ireland, clearly the Lord had another plan and called him home, not to Ireland but to Heaven itself. We offer our condolences to Fr. Martin's
family on their loss and to the people of Sandymount, his last parish, in their sadness. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
'Fr. Martin's funeral took place on Monday 21st November at 12.00. noon in St. Mary's Church, Haddington Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
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Christmas Shoebox Appeal
Giving a little joy and love to a needy child this Christmas? Many parishioners supported
the annual Team Hope Christmas Shoebox gift appeal. In Africa and Eastern Europe, Team Hope make
it happen for hundreds of thousands of poor children each year, many in families struggling on less than
€1 a day. Our shoebox gifts show God’s care for them – and bring a ray of hope . . . with lots of excitement
and laughter. Thank you to Jackie and Ann and the volunteers who helped make this happen.
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Bethany Bereavement Mass
A Mass of Remembrance took place at 6.00.p.m. on Saturday November 5th for all those whose funerals took place in our parish during the past year. Deceased family members and friends were also remembered. Conversation over a cup of tea afterwards offered a chance to share experience and to express solidarity with the bereaved. Thank you to our Hospitality Committee for this.
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Can You Help?
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'Copper Collection
"Take care of the pennies (or cents) and the pounds (or Euro) will take care of themselves." 
To help Parish Finances painlessly why not bring loose copper coins that are gathering (and gathering dust)
in your home to the Parish Office or Sacristy for our Copper Coin Collection any time. Thank you.
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Church Gardens/Courtyards
A helping hand or green fingers? Could you help clean tidy and, if you have even slightly
green fingers, help restore the four church gardens/courtyards to their original Four Seasons themes.
You would be very welcome to join us on Mondays after 10.00.a.m. Mass.
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Care of the Church 
"Many hands make light work." Could you spare an hour on Tuesday mornings after 10.00.a.m. Mass
to join our volunteers (shown on the right celebrating Mary's birthday) who hoover and shine and generally take
care of the church? We are very grateful to them for their efficience, reliability, commitment and good humour.
If you would like to join them all you need to do is show up and get busy. You will be made very welcome.
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