Dominicans to quit four parishes due to declining numbers

Falling numbers and an ageing membership are forcing the Dominicans in Ireland to withdraw from running four parishes.

In a letter, Irish provincial Fr Gregory Carroll said last Sunday that just 51 friars in Ireland are under the age of 65 and some of these are still in training and “not all are in robust health”.

As yet, no timetable has been set for implementation of the withdrawal from St Magdalen’s in Drogheda, St Dominic’s in Athy, St Saviour’s in Limerick, and St Saviour’s in Ballybeg, Waterford, according to a spokesman for the order, who also said the community would leave their premises in Leeson Park, Dublin.

Fr Carroll said the ordination of three new priests this summer and the solemn profession of six men in early September were moments of real hope but he added that there are now only 125 Irish Dominicans in the country, down from 175 less than 10 years ago.

“The purpose of the reorganisation is to help make the work of the 125 more effective in the core ministries of itinerant preaching, primary pastoral care, and youth faith formation while providing for the formation of those joining the order, and at the same time respecting traditional apostolates,” Fr Carroll said.

He added: “We are greatly saddened not to be able to maintain our presence indefinitely in all the centres where we serve.”

The provincial warned that “spreading our numbers too thinly means that it becomes extremely difficult to respond to new needs in creative and appropriate ways or even to meet current needs adequately”.

The Dominicans have been present in Ireland since 1224.