Inside Scientology’s Irish HQ
Who wouldn’t want a community facility like this? Well, anyone who fears there may be an ulterior motive behind the US group’s decision to offer the use of these amazing facilities for a pittance...
L Ron Hubbard’s books are for sale as Gaeilge
IT’S a gleaming building, worthy of any worshipper. Stepping inside, the first thing you notice is light and brightness, the smell of new pine coming from the custom-made bookshelves while bright white walls are festooned with inspiring quotes in rich gold lettering. ‘To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe,’ one reads. Another echoes the heroes of 1916, stating: ‘A nation is as alive as it has life in it. It is as alive as men are free to be. It is as alive as men freely support that nation towards its goals.’
Beside the building, there’s a football pitch where the local community can play everything from GAA to soccer and rugby.
There’s also Caifé Na Dothra, where people can drop by for food seven days a week. The menu serves tea, coffee and traditional Irish fayre like fish and chips and beef and Guinness stew.
There’s an auditorium that holds over 1,000 people and a church which can also transform into a performance venue or conference centre, complete with dressing room, lit mirrors and top-of-therange GHDs that would make any young girl feel like a star.
There’s even a room where organisers are planning to screen a children’s film for Halloween, while in the café this Sunday, there’ll be face-painting, bobbing for apples and other games.
Smartly-dressed workers in black and gold uniforms chat and have lunch in the café while the woman at reception smiles and answers queries for visitors.
There is one oddity though: one man’s face stares from photographs on the walls, book covers on the shelves and almost every area where you might look.
He is L Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Scientology religion, and a reminder that this is no ordinary community centre.
Instead, it is a huge Scientology Church and Community Centre, the first of its kind in the organisation, which is one of the fastestgrowing religions in the world. Nestled beside the Dodder River on the outskirts of Tallaght and Firhouse, there is no doubt among locals that this is designed to make Scientology acceptable in Dublin and beyond.
The state-of-the-art building is thought to have over 200 members of staff, and yet there are only 87 registered Scientologists in the whole of Ireland.
The Scientologists might see this as their new church and indeed, the building was previously owned by a Christian religious community. But so far, Scientology has not achieved formal religious status here.
The current head of the church, David Miscavige, was in Ireland for the grand unveiling last week — quoting WB Yeats in a sea of green, white and gold balloons as members celebrated the new building.
L Ron Hubbard, we were told, worked here in the 1950s, developing his personality tests. The new centre is part of his legacy, according to Miscavige.
The members do, they say, approach teachers and schools as part of their work against drugs. They have special packs which Scientologists insist have been used in Limerick to help stamp out the scourge of drugs there.
These can be downloaded free by any teacher, or requested from the centre, they say, as part of their ministry to help people.
They also help those with addictions in their Narconon programmes. In fact, if you need any kind of help and counselling — from relationship issues and work stresses to making the best of yourself — you can avail of it in the Scientology centre for a nominal fee.
High-tech consoles are placed behind the reception desk, each one exploring a different area of the Scientologists’ message and mission. Members of the public can now walk through and watch these videos, members say, in an effort to help them understand a religion that, at just 67, is still in its infancy.
L Ron Hubbard’s books are for sale throughout the centre and the organisation is also in the middle of a translation project so now some — like Fadhbanna Na hOibre — are for (The sale Problems as Gaeilge. With Work)
Glossy, free brochures line the shelves in English, Irish and every other language you can think of. Gold imagery decorating the building plays on the symbol of the Celtic knot but always present is either the two-triangle symbol of Scientology, embossed in green and gold, or another sign from the religion’s canon. Across from the café, a smartlydressed man sits at a desk which proclaims it’s the area for ‘Testing and Registration’. These tests are also offered for free and in the past have been criticised by those who believe Scientology is a cult, as the first step to enticing people through the doors of the church. Now that the doors are open to the community, more concerns are being raised about the purpose of the building, as people in the local area are concerned it is simply targeting the young and vulnerable.
One local mother who did not wish to be named says: ‘I’ve been inside it and, yes, in terms of targeting the most vulnerable in our community, there is a real concern about how they manage people.
‘They’re claiming this is a community centre but it is a centre for Scientology and Scientologists. It’s down the road from Firhouse Community School and already we’re told schoolchildren are taking lunch in the café.
‘Scientology imagery is everywhere and the place is designed to attract young people with the high-tech consoles, football pitches, performance spaces and upcoming concerts.’
But responding to questions from the Irish Daily Mail, the group said no such concerns had been expressed to them. ‘We have had many local people visit us in the Community Centre since we opened our doors a couple of weeks ago.’ A spokesperson said so far
‘This is a cult and not positive for the area’
the welcome from the local community had been a warm one. Many people feel it’s no coincidence that the centre lies just a couple of miles from a housing hub in Tallaght, an area of Dublin with many social issues.
The local mother continues: ‘Already some organisations that support the homeless have expressed an interest in the party for children, which worries me. In fairness, I don’t think there has ever been a time in our society where we have been so disconnected and particularly for young people to feel they don’t belong — so it’s a genuine fear I have that vulnerable people and young kids will feel this is somewhere where they can belong.
‘It’s disingenuous for them to be marketing this as a community centre, as it’s not.
‘It’s given over to Scientology and the practise of Scientology. It’s geared towards young people and attracting them.’
But in response to questions from the Irish Daily Mail, the organisation said it was their responsibility to serve the community and make the facility available to local groups. ‘It is a Church for Scientologists and a community centre for the local community to use, as it was before, when under different ownership. The facility is being provided to the community for charitable, non-profit and community functions.
The smiling American women we meet say that over 200 people have come through the doors for a look since the centre opened. One has come to Ireland via New York and Los Angeles and insists that demand for their facilities from the local community is already high.
She says: ‘We have had a lot of requests from local football and rugby clubs asking to use the pitch but we need a few months for it to settle before it can be used without being torn up. We have had members coming by asking if they can use it for competitions later in the year.’
The Scientologists say there is a need for homework clubs, dance class facilities and space for people to ‘just come in and use’. All you need to do to play a football tournament, or organise a dance class or concert is contact the community events director, who already has bookings for after Christmas.
A minister says: ‘At the end of November we are planning to put on a big community concert and get artists, local and otherwise, to come in and do a whole concert for the community and the holidays and welcome everyone.’
However local Sinn Féin TD Sean Crowe has grave concerns about the facility being in his ward.
‘I know my views are quite hard- line on this, but this is a cult and I don’t want to have anything to do with it. I don’t think this is at all a positive thing for the area,’ he says.
‘I don’t think anyone wanted to see the building lying there as an eyesore,’ Crowe says. ‘But this is basically a place for a cult and we know from the past that it targets people who are vulnerable in their own lives. It is not something I would encourage people to get involved in.’
This is disputed by the organisation who, in a statement to the Irish Daily Mail, said Scientology is a religion recognised by millions of people the world over, including government and judicial bodies, including the UK.
The Scientologists say their Drug Free World scheme has been adopted by teachers, community workers and gardaí in certain parts of Ireland to help the fight against drugs. They also have a ‘human rights’ campaign, which again is targeted at young people.
To use the facilities, all that is being asked is a nominal donation, but local centres say they are concerned they will be undercut and that the new centre will affect what they have been doing in the community.
A spokeswoman for Firhouse Community Centre nearby says they are worried. ‘I would hope that they wouldn’t try and compete with us as we have been a community centre for the past 30 years. My biggest concern is that they will be providing facilities for groups at such a low cost that they will be impacting on our business.’
The ministers in the church insist they don’t do door-knocking but will ‘accommodate’ anyone who is interested in Scientology. To that end, there are auditing rooms, a ‘purification’ centre and other areas close to the downstairs bookshop that are left out of the tour, with names on the door like ‘Universe Corps’, explained away as the administration areas.
Local Fine Gael councillor Brian Lawlor has been meeting members of the church with community activists and leaders.
He says: ‘After seeing it, I’m very reserved about it. When it was first announced I received over 100 emails about it, expressing concerns. And still I am wary and I will be keeping a close eye on things.
‘We will be watching this very closely to see how this will impact the area.
‘It’s a case of wait and see and if I feel it’s going to impact negatively on the community, I will deal with it.’
Close to areas where deprivation is rife and people are disenfranchised, it seems members of the Church of Scientology have set out their stall. They are determined to be active within the community, and engage with different activities within South Dublin.
But most people who have visited the centre feel the idea it is for use by the community with no strings attached does not ring true.
One resident says: ‘As far as I am concerned — and I have been inside — this is not a community centre. It is a shrine.’
There’s names on the doors like ‘Universe Corps’