Sunday Worship: 12 p.m: all welcome

Approximately 5 miles west of Portlaoise between the towns of Mountrath and Mountmellick, Ballyfin Parish lies at the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains . The Church of St. John the Baptist was built in 1792 by the Honourable William Pole. The building itself was probably originally simple in plan and structure. It was made from sandstone, with buttressed walls, a timber roof covered in slates, religious gothic style windows and doors and a battlement square tower surrounded by a simple spire.

The Church is situated in a peaceful and tranquil site. The building is surrounded by a graveyard with its memories both sad and joyous. Originally the church was the property of the Coote family of Ballyfin Demesne which is adjacent to the church. Ballyfin church was its own parish until 1949 when it was grouped with Portlaoise Parish, and then in 1958 they were joined with Mountrath until 1980 when they again became part of the Portlaoise group as they remain to the present day.