Parish priest sad to leave inspirational community
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A PARISH priest who is preparing to go on sabbatical before moving to a new Dublin parish has described his time in west Tallaght as being “very positive”, and commended the community for banding together after St Aidan’s Church in Brookfield accidentally went on fire last year.
Fr Jimmy McPartland has spent the past five years as co-parish priest of St Aidan’s Church in Brookfield, St Mark’s church in Springfield and the Church of St Thomas the Apostle in Jobstown, but has been primarily based in St Aidan’s Church in Brookfield.
Father Jimmy McPartland
Reflecting on his time spent in the parish, Fr McPartland said: “It’s been very positive. I’ve found the people of Jobstown, Springfield and Brookfield to be very welcoming and honest.”
After St Aidan’s Church in Brookfield was damaged in an accidental fire last year, which led to the church being closed for six months before reopening in time for last Christmas, Fr McPartland said he was heartened by seeing the community pull together.
“It was difficult getting the church up and running again,” said Fr McPartland, “but people from the African, Filipino, Indian and Irish community drew together as one Christian community [to help with the church].”
When asked about the main challenges that he faced during his time in the area, Fr McPartland said: “The challenges were the large number of suicides and tragic deaths in the area, but the positive side is the support that neighbours gave to the families affected – it was really inspirational.
“I think it’s the people who make the parish, not the priest – it’s the good-natured people.
“I’m sad to be leaving but I think it’s time enough for me to move on. Brookfield has been very positive, but I’ve completed the work I needed to do and now it’s time to move on and do something different.”
Fr McPartland added that the priests and the parish pastoral worker across all three parishes “worked well together as a team”.
Following his departure from St Aidan’s, Fr McPartland is planning to spend several months studying in Jerusalem while on sabbatical, before returning to Dublin to serve in a parish in Portmarnock.
Fr McPartland will be saying his last Mass in St Mark’s Church in Springfield this Sunday, August 26, at 12.30pm, and his last Mass in St Aidan’s Church in Brookfield will be on Sunday, September 2, at 10.30am.
TAGS Tallaght
