Tallaght is just a few miles from the centre of Dublin. It is well connected to the city by public transport. The latest arrival is the Luas tram system.

Christianity has had a long and distinguished history in Tallaght reaching back to Celtic times.

There are just a few traces left of the famous monastery founded there by Saints Maelruin and Oengus in the eighth century.

 These monks lived a life of great prayer and simplicity. Tallaght was a centre of learning. Some of the books written in the monastery still exist.

 The poetry they composed tells us that they also read the hand of God in the natural environment  that surrounded them.

 “The birds sing beautifully

To delight the king of the cloudy heavens.

They praise the radiant king.

Listen! The choir of the birds can be heard from afar”.

When the monastery was closed, Tallaght slumbered on for many centuries. 

People still remember when it was a little village of a few hundred people.

Now it is a thriving city with a population of some 100,000 divided into eleven Roman Catholic parishes.