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St Paul's Parish

History | Churches | Priests of the Parish

Brief Parish History & Geographical Location

The parish of St Paul's was created on September 1st 1971 from an area that contains Dooradoyle, Templemungret, Ballykeeffe and part of Gouldavoher that was formerly part of the parish of Mungret & Crecora. The parish was created to accommodate the increase in population in the parish of Mungret. Today the population of the parish is around 7,500 but is rising quickly.

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.

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Churches

According to the inscription on the foundation stone of St Paul's church in Dooradoyle, Bishop Newman and Fr James Neville PP dedicated it to St Paul on November 22 1987. The architects of the church were W.J. Symth and T. McGahon and the builder was Pat Cullen.

The glass on the main door of St Paul's church depicts the Papal crest and the crest of Limerick City. Inside on the left, there is a stained glass window of Christ the Redeemer. Beside this window, there are two side doors, which depict three of the seven sacraments, confirmation, baptism and the Eucharist.

There is a statue of the Sacred Heart on the left wall. Also on the left of the main body of the church is a large engraved window that shows St Paul, the Treaty Stone, King John's Castle and Pope John Paul II.

On the right hand side of the church, there is a large engraved window of the beheading of St Paul by two Roman soldiers, with the Coliseum in the background. The glass side doors on the right of the church depict the sacraments of marriage, communion and holy orders.

There is a statue of the Mother & Child on the far right of the church. There is also an engraved window of St Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.

The tabernacle is set in the wall between the altar and the chapel, and can be accessed from both sides. To the right of the altar, there is a connecting door to a small chapel that is dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. There is a separate entrance to the chapel at the back of the church.

There are glass panels of the lost sheep and the sacrament of the anointing of the sick on the connecting door from the chapel to the main church. The glass panels of the outer entrance of the chapel depict the Good Shepherd and his flock.

To the right of the chapel, there is a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. On the right of the chapel, there is a large engraved window of the Last Supper. On the left is an engraved glass window, which shows the Divine Mercy. The altar of the chapel is plain and has a crucifix behind it.

To the right of the church, there is a shrine to the Virgin Mary.


At the Crescent Shopping Centre in Dooradoyle, there is a small oratory that is dedicated to Pope John Paul II, which was opened to commemorate the visit of Pope John Paul II to Limerick in 1979. There is an engraving of Pope John Paul II at the entrance to the oratory.


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List of Priests

Year Parish Priest Curate(s)
1972 James Culhane John Leonard
1973 James Culhane John Leonard
1974 James Culhane John Leonard
1975 Martin O’Donnell John Leonard
    M. Crowe
1976 Martin O'Donnell John Leonard
    Richard Crowe
1977 Martin O’Donnell John Leonard
    Richard Crowe
1978 Martin O’Donnell John Leonard
    Richard Crowe
1979 Martin O’Donnell Richard Crowe
    Michael Noonan
1980 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Michael Noonan
1981 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Michael Noonan
    Austin McNamara
1982 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Michael Noonan
    Austin McNamara
1983 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Michael Noonan
    Austin McNamara
1984 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Austin McNamara
    Finbarr Buckley
1985 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Austin McNamara
    Finbarr Buckley
1986 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Austin McNamara
    Michael J. Neville
1987 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Austin McNamara
    Maurice Hynan
1988 James Neville Richard Crowe
    Maurice Hynan
    Austin McNamara
1989 Frank Moriarty Richard Crowe
    Austin McNamara
    Maurice Hynan
1990 Frank Moriarty Richard Crowe
    Austin McNamara
    Maurice Hynan
1991 John Leonard Richard Crowe
    Maurice Hynan
    Terence O’Connell
1992 John Leonard Richard Crowe
    Maurice Hynan
    James J. Keane
1993 John Leonard Richard Crowe
    Maurice Hynan
    Austin McNamara
1994 John Leonard Richard Crowe
    Maurice Hynan
    Austin McNamara
1995 John Leonard Richard Crowe
    Maurice Hynan
    Austin McNamara
1996 John Leonard Richard Crowe
    Maurice Hynan
    Noel Kirwan
1997 John Leonard Richard Crowe
    Noel Kirwan
    Alphonsus Cullinan
    Eugene Boyce
1998 John Leonard Richard Crowe
    Noel Kirwan
    Alphonsus Cullinan
    Eugene Boyce
1999 John Leonard Eugene Boyce
    Gerard Lysaght
    Alphonsus Cullinan
2000 John Leonard Eugene Boyce
2001 John Leonard Eugene Boyce
2002 John Leonard Eugene Boyce
2003 John Leonard Eugene Boyce
2004 John Leonard Eugene Boyce
2005 John Leonard Eugene Boyce
2006 John Leonard Eugene Boyce
2007 John Leonard Eugene Boyce

The list of Priests from 1704 to 1836 is compiled from information gained in Begley's History of the Diocese of Limerick Vol. III page 598. The remaining years are 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 | Churches | Priests of the Parish

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