A 3,500-Seat Church Comes Down, a 300-Seat Church and 100 Senior Homes Go Up: Dublin’s Finglas Plan Approved

• The Church of the Annunciation in Finglas, Dublin, once seated 3,500 people
• Its site will hold 100 social homes for older people and a new 300-seat church
• A primary care centre is also planned
• The project is part of a public-private partnership delivering 1,500 social homes

The Church of the Annunciation in Finglas, north Dublin, was built in the late 1960s to hold 3,500 worshippers. It will be replaced by something very different. The Irish Times reported in June 2022 that plans had been approved for 100 homes for older people on the site, alongside a much smaller new church and a primary care centre.

Dublin City Council approved the demolition of the old church in early 2020. The new development went through the council’s internal planning process, which requires councillors’ approval. The replacement church will seat 300. Construction was expected to begin within 18 to 24 months, with a 12-month build.

The homes are part of a public-private partnership scheme to deliver 1,500 social homes across Ireland. Under the arrangement, the State retains ownership of the land and the developer receives payments over 25 years for building and maintaining the homes.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the government was talking to church authorities about more land. “In the engagement that my department has had with church authorities…we are seeking that where land is available, we would be able to have that land offered to us either at a reduced price or at some instances for free,” he said.

The Finglas plan captures a common story in Ireland: churches built for large mid-century congregations are now far too big, while the country faces an acute shortage of homes, especially for older people. Rebuilding a smaller church on part of the site keeps a parish presence while freeing land for housing.

Jamaica’s churches are generally fuller than Ireland’s, but some large sanctuaries are underused and costly to maintain. The Finglas approach of a smaller church, senior housing and a health centre on one site offers church leaders in Jamaica, and diaspora supporters, one model for making a large plot serve worship, care and housing together.

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