In 1926, St. Finn Barr held its first services in a storefront. According to FoundSF's Sunnyside history, the commercial space stood at the present site of the Monterey Boulevard Safeway. Father McLaughlin, the first pastor, had come from County Tipperary to serve a neighborhood that was itself barely a generation old.
Within two years, the parish had a church building at Edna Street and Hearst Avenue. A May 1928 photograph shows the Knights of Columbus gathered in front of what the caption calls the "newly built" St. Finn Barr. The school came later, founded separately in 1962 and originally administered by the Irish Sisters of Mercy. Parish and school share the Edna-Hearst block, though thirty-six years separate their origins.
Both have served a civic function well beyond any single congregation. As the Sunnyside History Project has documented, the SNA has met in St. Finn Barr's hall since the 1970s. In a neighborhood that has never had a public meeting room of its own, the parish became one.
This September 25–27, the Feast of Saint Finn Barr Festival marks the centennial. The theme is "Passport to Our World." A hundred years ago the congregation was Tipperary Irish and the room was rented. The block at Edna and Hearst is still the gathering point.
Parish founded: 1926, in a storefront at the present Monterey Blvd. Safeway site
Church built: By 1928, at Edna Street and Hearst Avenue, where it remains
School founded: 1962 — 36 years after the parish. Originally run by the Irish Sisters of Mercy; today led by lay administration
Parish address: 415 Edna St.
School address: 419 Hearst Ave.
Civic role: SNA quarterly meetings have been held in the St. Finn Barr hall since the 1970s
Centennial festival: Sept. 25–27, 2026. Free admission. International food, live music, games, raffles, alumni gatherings. Dates and logistics should be confirmed closer to the event.
Named for: Finn Barr (also Finbar), patron saint of Cork, Ireland