Parish Priests

St Thomas’ parish has been served by almost 20 parish priests since its establishment in 1861.

It is a good and holy thing to pray for those men who served our community. Some have died and others have retired.

James McNamara  1863 – 1880; †
Bernard Tracy 1880 – 1893; †
Duncan Brown 1893 – 1900; †
Aloysius Reifenrath 1900 – 1924; †
John F. Clark 1924 – 1931; †
John Ashe 1931 – 1938; †
Joseph Costeur  1938 – 1941; †
James Hogan 1941 – 1945; †
Gerald McDade 1945 – 1947; †
Daniel McGlinchey  1947 – 1951; †
Richard Fennessy 1951 – 1959; †
Donald Bonnar 1959 – 1968; †
Vincent Grace 1968 – 1971; †
James J. Sheehan 1971 – 1980; †
James Murphy 1980 – 1990; †
John McElroy 1990 – 1999; retired, St Mary’s, Paisley
Bernard J. Canning 1999 – 2007; retired, Holy Rosary Residence, Greenock
James Cunnigham 2007 – 2015; retired, St Charles’, Paisley
Joseph Balmer 2015 – 2022