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HISTORY OF THE AREA Details of the earlier ecclesiastical history of Balally are meagre and hard to come by. It appears that there were at least two churches at different periods. There was a church on the lands of Balally, "Ballywroolef", mentioned in 1179 during the term of Archbishop Laurence O'Toole. Ruins of a church, marked on the Ordnance Survey as Moreen Cross, can just be traced in the grounds of the Central Bank. It is documented that King Henry VIII presented the lands of Balally to the Corporation of Dublin in 1539. In 1577 the Corporation leased these lands to Jacques Winfield, Master of the King's Ordnance on condition that he built a castle on the site. The castle was never completed because of the hostile incursions of the Wicklow clans. Its outline could be traced within living memory at the rear of Balally Terrace. In 1604 Balally is mentioned with an alias, "Balofryn" (Mass Place?). Later, in 1630, a priest named Fr. Cahill was saying Mass each Sunday in Balally. He was succeeded by Fr. Patrick Gilmore who received his ordination from St. Oliver Plunkett in the countryside near Dundalk.
The Parish of the Church of the Ascension of The Lord, Balally, was constituted in 1977 from Sandyford Parish. It takes its name from the townland of the same name situated in the ancient deanery of Taney. The old Gaelic form is Baile Amhlaoibh - meaning the "town of Olave" indicating Norse ownership before the Anglo-Norman invasion. Balally Parish stretches from the Slang river at Ardglas to the M50 motorway at Sandyford. It comprises Sandyford Road, the housing estates on both sides of it as well as the Sandyford/Stillorgan Industrial Estates. It also takes in the Gort Muire Conference Centre and the estates of College Park, Delbrook Manor and Delbrook Park on the Ballinteer Road.
There are more than 2,200 homes with a population of approximately 9,000 people. The parish is served by two primary (Queen of Angels and St. Olaf’s) and two second level schools (St. Tiernan’s and Wesley College).
HISTORY OF THE PARISH For the first few years, of the parishes’ existence St. Olaf's National School hall was used as a Mass Centre.
The dedication of The Church of the ascension of the Lord (October 1982) ©The Church of the Ascension of the Lord.
The Church of the Ascension of the Lord has served the people of Balally since its opening. Due to financial constraints at the time of opening some items in the church building were not completed until recent years. With the construction of the Luas project the church received a windfall of funds from the purchase of church lands. This enabled the completion of the church with the insertion of the suspended ceiling and stained glass windows. At this time a new sanctuary was commissioned along with a new altar, ceiling, lighting and baptismal font. As a result of all this construction work the church was re-dedicated by His Grace Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on October 1st 2006.
The Re-dedicated Sanctuary of the church October 1st 2006. ©The Church of the Ascension of the Lord
The re-dedicated Sanctuary (October 2006) ©The Church of the Ascension of the Lord
Priests and Sisters who have served in Balally Parish Parish Priests Fr. Sean Cleary (Deceased) 1977 - 1979 Curates to the parish were: Fr. Richard (Dick) Browne 1977-1979 Fr. Jim Pribeck S.J. served as supply priest from 2000 – 2004 Religous Sisters attached to the parish include: Sisters of Marie Reparatrice From 1982 - 1990 Faithful Companions of Jesus From 1990 -
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