Diocese of Limerick | Heritage Project | Index | Search | Help
History | Break up of the Parishes | Churches | Priests of the Parish
Brief Parish History & Geographical Location
Christ the King parish was formed on April 22 1970. It consists of parts of the old parishes of Our Lady of the Rosary and a small portion of St Munchin's parish. The first parish priest in Christ the King was Fr John Browne. When it was originally formed, the parish consisted of farmland and two estates in Caherdavin. Now, however, it is a large suburb of Limerick City.
The population of the parish is around 5,500.
In Medieval Limerick, there were five parishes in Limerick City; St John's, St Mary's, St Michael's, St Munchin's and St Patrick's.
In recent times, the boundaries of these parishes have been altered to form the following parishes:
St Mary's was divided into St Mary's and St Nicholas' (1991).
St Michael's was divided into St Michael's, Our Lady of Lourdes (1963), St
Joseph's (1973) and St Saviour's (1973).
St Munchin's was divided into St Munchin's, Our Lady of the Rosary (1964),
Christ the King (1970) and Corpus Christi (1976).
St Patrick's was divided into St Patrick's, Monaleen (1971), and Our Lady
Help of Christians (1981).
St John's parish has not been altered.
St Paul's was formerly part of the parish of Mungret/Crecora and was created
in 1971.
Our Lady Queen of Peace (1961) and Holy Family (1970) were formerly part of
the parish of Donaghmore/Knockea.
Christ the King church is in the townland of Shanabooly. It was opened and blessed on September 27th 1985 by Bishop Newman and Fr David Houlihan PP. The architects of the church were John and Nuala Kernan. The church is now a listed building. The builder was Pat Cullen and the engineers were Michael Punch and Partners.
The church is circular in shape and has a high timber ceiling. In the main porch, there is a picture of Pope John Paul II celebrating mass at Limerick Racecourse during his visit to Ireland in 1979. A stained glass window depicting the story of Creation according to the Book of Genesis is in the porch. Erica Ryan designed this window. It is dedicated to the memory of members of the Kiely & McDonagh families and was erected by Kathleen McDonagh.
There is also a statue of Our Lady of Tenderness & Mother of the Church, which is in memory of Fr John Ryan who was parish priest from 1992 until 1997. Chris Ryan made this statue. It was placed in the porch of the church in the autumn of 1998. Beside this statue is a plaque which lists the donors of items to the church.
There are eight stained glass windows on the left-hand side of the church. These windows are echoes of the stained glass window of Genesis, which is in the porch of the church. To the right of the altar, there is a picture of Mary and the Infant Jesus while to the left there is a picture of Christ the King.
The high altar is made from a combination of concrete and granite dust. The altar stone was formerly part of a nineteenth century altar from the Benedictine monastery at Glenstal Abbey in Murroe, Co. Limerick. Behind the high altar, there is a separate chapel of reservation to the Blessed Sacrament.
Fr Henry O'Shea, a member of the Benedictine Order designed the large stone baptismal font, which is now situated to the right of the high altar. He also designed the altar, the ambo, and the tabernacle. The tabernacle is made from copper. The hanging crucifix, which is situated over the main altar, and the President's chair are both Fr O'Shea's design.
We would like to thank the architect of Christ the King church,
John Kernan for providing us with information on the church.
| Year | Parish Priest | Curate(s) |
| 1971 | John Browne | |
| 1972 | John Browne | James Ambrose |
| 1973 | John Browne | James Ambrose |
| 1974 | John Browne | Anthony Mulvihill |
| 1975 | John Browne | Desmond McAuliffe |
| 1976 | John Browne | Desmond McAuliffe |
| 1977 | David Houlihan | Desmond McAuliffe |
| 1978 | David Houlihan | Desmond McAuliffe |
| 1979 | David Houlihan | Francis Moriarty |
| 1980 | David Houlihan | Thomas Carroll |
| 1981 | David Houlihan | Thomas Carroll |
| 1982 | David Houlihan | Thomas Carroll |
| 1983 | David Houlihan | Thomas Carroll |
| 1984 | David Houlihan | Thomas Carroll |
| 1985 | David Houlihan | Thomas Carroll |
| 1986 | David Houlihan | Thomas Carroll |
| 1987 | David Houlihan | Thomas Carroll |
| Albert Nix | ||
| 1988 | Mgr. Liam Boyle | Thomas Carroll |
| Albert Nix | ||
| 1989 | Mgr. Liam Boyle | Thomas Carroll |
| Albert Nix | ||
| 1990 | Mgr. Liam Boyle | Thomas Carroll |
| Albert Nix | ||
| 1991 | Mgr. Liam Boyle | Thomas Carroll |
| Gerard Lysaght | ||
| 1992 | Mgr. Liam Boyle | Thomas Carroll |
| Gerard Lysaght | ||
| 1993 | John Ryan | Thomas Carroll |
| Gerard Lysaght | ||
| 1994 | John Ryan | Thomas Carroll |
| Gerard Lysaght | ||
| 1995 | John Ryan | Thomas Carroll |
| Gerard Lysaght | ||
| 1996 | John Ryan | Thomas Carroll |
| Gerard Lysaght | ||
| 1997 | John Ryan | Thomas Carroll |
| Gerard Lysaght | ||
| 1998 | John Ryan | Gerard Lysaght |
| Kevin McCarthy | ||
| 1999 | Thomas Ryan | Jeremiah Brouder |
| 2000 | Thomas Ryan | Richard Davern |
| 2001 | Thomas Ryan | Richard Davern |
| 2002 | Thomas Ryan | Richard Davern |
| 2003 | Thomas Ryan | Richard Davern |
| 2004 | Thomas Ryan | Richard Davern |
| 2005 | Desmond McAuliffe | Richard Davern |
| 2006 | Thomas A. Ryan | Richard Davern |
| 2007 | Thomas A. Ryan | Richard Davern |
The list of Priests is compiled from the Catholic Directories. Information contained in a directory of any given year refers to what happened the previous year, For example if a priest is recorded in the 1954 directory as being in a particular parish, this would mean that he was actually there in 1953.
History | Break up of the Parishes | Churches | Priests of the Parish
Christ the King Parish Home | Back to Top
Diocese of Limerick | Heritage Project | Index | Search | Help
Website by Lúnasa Design