Church of the Annunciation Carrig Bicentenary Celebration

What to Expect

The little church at Carrig, in the Brendan Pastoral Area of Birr Parish, turns 200 in 2026, and the parish is marking it with a bicentenary celebration on Friday 25 September at 7.30pm. Both Birr Parish and the Diocese of Killaloe have the evening in their event calendars, with the ceremony running to roughly 9pm. For a rural church of this size a bicentenary is a genuinely rare occasion, and the congregation is likely to include people who were baptised, married or schooled in the parish and have since moved away.

The building was known simply as Carrig Church for most of its life. It was renamed the Church of the Annunciation in 1976, when the renewal works that followed the Second Vatican Council were completed. Local historians have already published a book on Carrig and its people, so the parish has a well documented two centuries to draw on. Expect a liturgy with a strong local flavour, parish music, and time given to the families and clergy who kept the church going across six generations.

Good to Know

• Date and time: Friday 25 September 2026, 7.30pm, at the Church of the Annunciation, Carrig, Birr Parish.
• The listing runs the evening to around 9pm.
• Free to attend. No ticket or booking is advertised.
• Confirm details with Birr Parish Office on 057 912 2028 or info@stbrendansbirr.ie, particularly if you are travelling a distance.
• Carrig is a small country church, so seating is limited and arriving early is worthwhile.

Getting There

Carrig is a rural location outside Birr town, reached on local roads, and there is no scheduled bus to the church door, so plan on driving. Birr itself is on the N52 between Nenagh and Tullamore and on the N62 from Roscrea, with the town about two hours from Dublin. Parking at a country church like this is on the grass margins and in the yard beside the gate, so leave room for others and take care pulling back out onto an unlit road after dark.