Parish History | Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Limerick

The parish of Our Lady of Lourdes was created in 1963 when the area was separated from the then parish of St. Michael’s. The population of the parish is about 5,000. In recent times our Parishes have been divided into Pastoral Units. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish is in Pastoral Unit No.2 with St. Josephs Parish & St. Saviours (Dominican) Parish. We strive to work together in support of the individual parishes. At Present wee have 2 Pastoral Council for the Pastoral unit consisting of an equal number of representatives from the three individual parishes.

Local Sites

St Dominics Well is situated in Rossbrien on land owned by Shannon Development. The well is about four feet deep and has steps leading down to it. According

St Dominics Graveyard

to Seán Spellissy, the original name of the well may have been a corruption of Tobar Rí an Domhnaigh or ‘The well of the King on Sunday’. It is believed that Tobar Rí an Dohmnaigh may have been a corruption of Modhomhnoc. However there was two saints of this name and their feast days fall on February 13 & May 18 respectively. There are no devotions at the well.

St Dominics Graveyard is a quarter of a mile south of St. Dominics Well. There are trees and a wire fence surround the graveyard. The oldest headstone that was found was to the memory of John Mulcahy who died on January 10, 1838 at the age of 7.

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church

The church was built in 1958/59 and is situated on Childers road. According to the foundation stone, which was laid on February 11th 1958 and blessed by Bishop Murphy. Lanigan Bros. built the church and the architect of the church was Patrick Sheehan. At the front of the church there is a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and to the left of this statue is the foundation stone. There is a depiction of Mary in the stained glass on the door into the church. There is a picture of Pope John Paul II over the door of the church. On the right hand side there is a statue of St. Colmcille that was given by Sr. Nora Wall.

Stained Glass Windows

On both sides of the church, there are four stained glass windows, which were originally part of the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Bishop St. in the city. Mayer of Munich made the stained glass windows. They were restored by Abbey Stained Glass studios in Dublin when they were transferred into Our Lady of Lourdes church. On the left-hand side of the church, the stained glass windows include Jesus curing the sick, which was donated by Margaret and Marianne Kelly in memory of their father Michael. The stained glass window of St. Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist are in the same panel. The window of St. Elizabeth was erected in 1880 to the memory of Mother Mary Elizabeth Moore who was the first Superioress of the Sisters of Mercy convent in Bishop St.

The Stained glass window of St. John the Baptist is to the memory of Bishop John Ryan who was the benefactor of the sisters of Mercy convent. Christina Hogan donated the stained glass window of St. Joseph to the memory of her husband Hugh. John Neville erected the stained glass window of the Good Shepherd in 1880 in memory of his daughter Sr Mary Liguori who was a Sister in the convent.

The other stained glass windows in the church are the Visitation, St. Patrick & St. Brigid. Our Lady of Lourdes and the Sacred Heart. Harriet O’Brien donated the window of the Visitation to the memory of Bishop George Butler. The window was erected in the convent on February 5th 1886. The stained glass windows of St. Patrick & St. Brigid are in the same panel. The window of St. Patrick was erected to the memory of Patrick D Burke by his wife Margaret in 1880. Helena Heffernan was a benefactor of the Sisters of Mercy convent and the stained glass window of St. Brigid was erected in her memory.

The stained glass window of Our Lady of Lourdes commemorates the Apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes. It was donated by Margaret and Marianne Kelly. The window was erected on the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th 1886. John and Brigid Moylan donated the stained glass window of the Sacred Heart to the memory of their sons Michael & William in 1880.

Church Statues

At the top of the church on the left, there is a statue of St. Anthony that was originally in the Mercy Convent in Abbeyfeale. There is also a picture of St. Bernadette. Further left of the altar there is a statue of Our Lady. A plaque on the statue asks people to pray for PG Collins. To the right of the altar there is a statue of St. Joseph & and a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. Further right of the main altar, there is a baptismal font and a statue of the Sacred Heart.

Church Statues