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Kilroot as a religious centre dates back to the time of St Patrick and possibly before.
Archbishop Usher (1624) quoting from the life of St. Ailbe of Emily states that Kilroot was founded in 412 AD. This would Pre-date the mission of St Patrick in 432 AD.
Colman Ela or Elo (553-610 AD) is probably the St Colman connected to Kilroot. He was the son of Beogna and Mor, the sister of St Columba and was born in County Tyrone.
In the 6th Century there is evidence of a compact between the Bishop of Connor and the Abbot of Kells. The Abbot appointed the Vicar and the Bishop laid claim to the income for the lands of Kilroot Manor.
1180 saw the arrival of the Normans and the establishment of Carrickfrergus Castle and St Nicholas Church Carrickfergus.
It would seem that by 1840 the Bishops Palace was a shell and the church a total ruin. The Palace was lived in by the Brice (Bruce) family in 1696, although the church was known to be in ruins when Jonathan Swift was appointed Prebend in 1695.
Swift lived at Kilroot from March 1695- May 1696. The area at the time was strongly Scots Presbyterian. It would therefore seem that there were few Parishioners allowing Swift to write "Tale of a Tub" and to visit the Donegal family in Belfast, where he spent most of his time. Swift eventually became Dean of St Patrick's, Dublin. He is best known for his work "Gulliver's Travels" .
The list of Prebendaries of Kilroot commences with John Cotton in 1609, Robert Maida was Vicar in 1506 and Henry Calvert heads the list of Curates in 1629.
In 1916 Kilroot became part of the Parish of Carrickfergus and Kilroot and remained so until the industrial expansion of Carrickfergus when services for those families at the eastern end of the town began to be held in Eden National School. The last was held on the 5th December 1971.
The Select Vestry of the joint Parishes purchased land close to Downshire Gardens and erected a temporary Church Hall which was dedicated that December. The hall was named St Colman's to re-establish the links with Kilroot and it's history.
The Parish of Kilroot made a huge financial commitment to build a new church, which was dedicated in 1981. In 1997 a new Church Hall was opened and named after The Rev. Robert Henderson, who was the driving force behind the Parish fundraising efforts.
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