Finglas residents are on the lookout for a long-lost handmade replica of their local church for its centenary celebrations.
St Canice's Roman Catholic Church on Main Street will be turning 100 this December. Church committee member Tony Smullen told Dublin Live the model, which was made in the 1950s, has been lost to time.
He said: "We have a specific appeal for a man called T.L. Gallagher who made a replica of the church in around 1955. It looks to be about seven or eight feet long."
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Although the church was built in 1922, it was extended in the mid-50s. Tony said the model was made using off-cuts of granite that the builders didn't use.
He added: "It looks fantastic in the old newspaper cuttings. And he had some kind of a battery light in it." They even found an address for Gallagher but he had moved and the people who lived there didn't know anything about him.
Tony said: "We have an address but he doesn’t live there. The people who live in the house don’t know anything about him.
"We’ve wondered if the model is still around in somebody’s attic or lying somewhere. That’s our number one appeal."
Tony said preparations for the centenary celebrations are in full swing as a number of activities have been planned. He said: "We’re trying to put in a couple of stained glass windows that would reflect the history of the church, particularly in the last two or three years when people have been through so much.
"The design on one of the windows will reflect a thanks to all the people who gave so much of their time and energy into protecting us and working for us."
Tony also said the church is keen to get in touch with anyone who may have had their baptisms, holy communions, or weddings at St Canice's.
He said: "We would like to start a photographic archive of people who were married or baptised here. Certainly, we’d be interested in the older photographs but even the photographs taken during Covid time."
The foundation for St Canice's was built in 1920 but the church itself was completed on December 10, 1922. Tony said: "The church served as the parish church until the mid-50s and then Finglas experienced something of a boom in house building.
"People relocated from the tenements in the city to Finglas west. The church was extended in 1955 so where the altar is now is the newer section."
A GoFundMe page has been launched by committee member, Valerie Murphy to raise funds for the new stained glass windows planned for the church to commemorate the occasion and celebrate the community. You can donate here to support her cause.
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