Independent.ie
January 4, 2014
Islam will become Ireland’s second religion within the next 30 years because of dramatic population growth and immigration.
The revelation came as construction work is expected to begin next year on Ireland’s largest mosque.
The Clongriffin centre, on Dublin’s northside, will be the largest Islamic religious complex in the State and will also boast a major cultural centre.
An Bord Pleanala earlier this year granted planning permission for the three-storey complex, which is earmarked for a six-acre site owned by developer Gerry Gannon.
Costing more than €40m, the mosque complex will be able to cater for more than 3,000 people and will feature two minarets, a prayer hall, a cultural centre, offices, bookshop, a library, a mortuary, a creche, a 600-seat events centre, school, a state-of-the-art fitness centre, and apartment blocks.
The entire complex will be 5,573sqm in size and will be able to cater for 600 worshippers for Friday prayers.
Population statistics compiled by the Central Statistics Office confirmed that Islam is now Ireland’s fastest-growing religion and, at its current rate of expansion, it is set to become the second religion in the State after Catholicism by 2043.
In 1991, Islam accounted for just 0.1pc of the Irish population. That soared to 1.1pc – a 10-fold increase – by 2011, when a total of 49,204 Muslims were resident in Ireland.
Census
While there are indications the growth rate has slowed to 70pc between 2002 and 2006, a strong birth rate and immigration are expected to result in
Ireland’s Muslim population exceeding 100,000 by 2020.