Sunday the 29th July is a very special day for Kilcoole and for Kilquade parish, when St Anthonys church celebrates its 50th birthday. 50 years ago on Sunday the 28th July 1968 the people of Kilcoole saw the culmination of years of organisation and preparation when St Anthony’s was opened and blessed. The blessing and opening was preformed by Most Rev. Dr. McQuaid the then Archbishop of Dublin
The site for the building of St Anthony’s was given to the parish by the sisters of the Holy Faith Convent, who have many links with the people of Kilcoole for over a 100 years. The planning of the Church was done in the late 50s and early 60s. The capacity of the Church is 700 people and creates an intimate atmosphere.
The original fund raising committee started full of enthusiasm in 1945. Many fund raising activities took place for several years. The plan for a new Church was then placed on the shelf and this remained the situation until 1962 when everything took off again at a pace. Interesting when you look the cost of providing a new church in 1945 versus 1968. At a meeting in April 1945 it was explained that a new Church would be costly , a temporary ‘ tin ‘ Church would cost about 3000 pounds , while a permanent concrete structure would cost about 6000 pounds. Just imagine what it would cost today. All of the work carried out on the Church was paid for thanks to the fund raising functions and the support of various people and sponsors. Most of the furniture and artefacts were sponsored
Kilcoole has always been an important location in Wicklow’s cultural and religious heritage dating back before the 7th century. On the site of the old Church beneath Kilcoole rock lay a monastic church founded in the seventh century. The full history of Kilcoole and its ancient church calls for further research. It is believed that the name Kilcoole means ‘ The Church of Comgall. The monks of Abbot Comgall from County Down are known to have established a number of religious settlements on the coasts of Wicklow and Dublin. Kilcoole was mentioned by Pope Alexander the 3rd in 1179 as “ Cellgomgaill” Kilcoole has historical connections with Wicklow’s most important clans such as the O’Tooles and the O’Byrnes.
St Anthony’s Church is also a tourist attraction due to the Kilcoole— Glenroe connection. Biddy and Miley were married in St Anthony’s as part of the Glenroe storyline.
The 50 years since St Anthony’s said its first mass on the 28th July 1968, has been a time of great change for Kilcoole. The population back then was about 500 people. 25 years later in 1993 when we celebrated our 25th anniversary it had grown to 2500. Today our population has grown to 4200. If the walls of our Church could talk imagine what history it could give us. Kilcoole is a vibrant place, full of energy and activity. Large numbers of people over the past 50 years have chosen Kilcoole as the place they want to live and rear their families.Today we have excellent national and second level schools , Community centre , Playground that further enhance the sense of place and community spirit.
The desire for a church in Kilcoole came from the will of the people and the people of Kilcoole are justifiably proud of St Anthony’s. It is interesting to wonder what the next 50 years will bring.
Tom
