By Dan Walsh
The local community in Marshalstown were celebrating 100 years of the parish over the weekend. In December 1924 Bunclody and Marshalstown were separated to become individual parishes.
Originally part of the vast parish of Templeshambo the division of Templeshambo parish into smaller units in the Roman Catholic administration commenced in the 1700s.
Marshalstown was a curacy of Bunclody (then known as Newtownbarry) when St. Joseph’s Church was built in 1873.
Originally education was imparted through the ‘hedge school’ system but the first school in Marshalstown opened on October 12th, 1885. Teachers and students first entered the present primary school on October 1st, 1973. It has been extended and developed greatly up to modern times and recently Wexford County Council provided a modern pedestrian crossing as part of a national safety programme.
Marshalstown Community Centre was built on a site provided by Jim Bolger, it was built by Anco (later known as Fás) and Bishop Brendan Comiskey performed the official opening on Sunday, November 12th, 1988.
History Source; Marshalstown and Castledockrell Parish Journal 2003 edited by Pat Redmond.
WexfordLocal.com 