The Parish

What and where is Springfield?

The parish of St Marks, Springfield, is situated in Tallaght which is seven miles West of Dublin City and close to the M50 Motorway.

It has has three distinct areas; Springfield; Fettercairn, and Belgard. There is also a section of the parish, called 'Springfield 2' slightly up the hill in the Kiltipper area above Jobstown and Kilinarden.

The Irish for Tallaght is Taimhleacht which means 'The Plague Monument'. It is said that the first settlers to Ireland are buried here. These colonists are said to have come not long after the Flood to the Irish shores from Migdonia in Greece under the leadership of a hero called Partholon. According to the 'Annals of the Four Masters', nine thousand of the Parthalons people died in one week from plague and were buried in Tallaght. Hence the name for the area was 'Taimhleact-Mhuin-tire-Parthalon' (The grave of Parthalon's People).

Tallaght is an area of historical importance, with a great monastic tradition. It has many Saints associated with it including St Maelruain, St Joseph (a Bishop), St Croine, St Airfhindan, St Eochiadh and others.. Tallaght was for many centuries the place of the country home of the Archbishop of Dublin.

Today Tallaght is a very large urban area, about the size of Limerick City. It has grown from being a village in the late 1960s to being an area that now has over eleven parishes. It has its own Regional Technical College, a very large hospital as well as The Square Shopping Centre.

In the new Ireland of today Tallaght has become the home of many of our new Irish, the families who have come here from India,The Phillipines, Africa and Eastern Europe. Multi lingual and multi cultural it is coping well with these changes and welcomes all those whose presence enrich our lives. Many are Catholic and have become a vibrant part of our parish community.