History

In the early 1980s, Archbishop Dermot Ryan expressed a willingness to re-establish the Conventual Franciscan Order in Ireland. The order, also known as the Greyfriars, had been absent for nearly 450 years since the suppression of religious houses in Ireland during the Reformation. The order was persecuted and banished from Ireland during the repressive Penal times.

In 1985, Archbishop Kevin McNamara continued efforts to bring the Greyfriars to the Archdiocese. He had a special devotion to the recently canonised Convetual Franciscan St. Maximilian Kolbe.

Archbishop McNamara appointed two friars, Fr. Patrick Griffin and Fr. Jarlath McDonagh, as curates. These appointments were made on the understanding that after the incumbent parish priest had retired, the parish would be entrusted entirely to the care of the Conventual Franciscan Order.

In July 1986, the Greyfriars were given this pastoral mandate and Fr. Patrick was inducted as Parish Priest on 12th Dec 1986. The permanent transfer of the parish to the care of the Conventual Franciscans occurred on 27th March 1987. The people of Fairview took warmly to the Conventual Franciscans, and their Visitation Friary continues today to serve and care for the people in the spirit of St. Francis. The Friars are active members of the parish community, and their presence and ministry seek to renew and inspire the Catholic faith in Dublin.