Whispers of Saint Marnock echo through Portmarnock Parish. This ancient land holds secrets whispered on the wind. Portmarnock Parish a place steeped in history and faith. Its story begins long ago with a man named Marnock. Tradition says he brought Christianity here. He baptized people at a well near the Strand Road graveyard.
A simple church stood where St Marnock’s well once flowed. That church vanished centuries ago. A new one rose in its place. This too fell into disrepair by the 1600s. The graveyard however lived on. It’s a final resting place for notable figures. Among them the Jamesons of whiskey renown. Also buried there is Larry O’Neill a former Dublin Lord Mayor. Members of the Plunkett family including Saint Oliver rest here too.
Across the road from the old railway station stood Portmarnock House. The Plunkett family’s mansion boasted a private chapel. It’s said Saint Oliver often celebrated Mass within those walls. During penal times Catholics secretly worshipped at a Mass Rock. This was on the Beechwood estate near the Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Club. The Mass Rock endured until the early 1900s a testament to faith’s resilience.
Catholic Emancipation spurred the church’s reorganization. By the late 1800s the parish of Baldoyle including Portmarnock built a church. Portmarnock residents attended until 1934. That year Archbishop Byrne dedicated a new tin church. It served as a chapel of ease for Baldoyle. Larry O’Neill donated the land. His only wish was that the church be dedicated to St Anne. Remarkably he died peacefully on St Anne’s feast day July 26 1943.
The tin church was a temporary structure meant to last twenty years. It actually served for fifty. Fr Leo Dolan Portmarnock’s first resident priest arrived in 1965. He tragically drowned in 1970. Portmarnock became its own parish in 1972. Father Hayes became its first parish priest.
The tin church couldn’t handle the growing population. For a time Mass was held in the Country Club Hotel ballroom. The Church of the Holy Family was built in 1979 as a temporary solution. But growth continued. A new church was necessary. On May 8 1983 St Anne’s Church opened. Designed to seat 800 it was blessed by Archbishop Dermot Ryan.
In 2005 a refurbishment committee was formed. A new layout made the church more inclusive. A new roof was built. The beautiful circular rose window rescued from the tin church was restored. The altar tabernacle and lectern feature significant imagery. The refurbished church was rededicated in 2007 by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Portmarnock Parish stands as a vibrant community. It celebrates its rich past while embracing the future. A testament to faith resilience and community spirit.