Our church history

Our church history

If you look under the “About us” tab there is some more detailed information, but with 166 years to cover we could write books about the history of the church.  Rather on this page we have decided to show the history through the following graphic and some words from our Minister about our current name.

If we take all the parts of our name, we can give some idea of who we are, but please remember it is only part of the picture.

CLONTARF, not only tells where we find ourselves, it also speaks of a congregation which moved here over 120 years ago and have become very much a part of the community.  Through the Howth Road National School, for which we hold the patronage, we have a much wider relationship with the community than our memberships reflects.

SCOTS speaks of the journey of  Ormond Quay joining the Scots Church and then a joining up here to form this congregation in the early part of the last century.

PRESBYTERIAN tells the complex story of how we order ourselves locally and how we inter-relate to other Presbyterian congregations through the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.  We are led by a group of locally chosen Elders who are ordained into their ministry.  The minister playing the part of Teaching Elder.  It is the hope and prayer of the Elders of this congregation, as well as the people of this family of God, to serve our own organisations well with these new buildings.  And also the wider community.  In this desire, we come to the last part of the name, as lovely as the buildings are, it is the people who meet here who form a part of God’s great and glorious CHURCH.

Rev. Lorraine Ritchie