The arrival of the Irish in Haverford Township occurs in three phases: the 19th century mill era, the early 20th century railroad communities and the post World War II suburban housing tracts. Born in Ireland in 1779, Dennis Kelly arrived in Philadelphia in 1806. After several years of manual labor Kelly became the prosperous owner of the complex of mills along Karakung Creek. Kelly and his mills attracted the first Irish Catholics to the otherwise Protestant community. 1860 census records attest to the Irish presence and their occupations in the mills. In 1822, mindful of duty to community and faith, Kelly bought and donated land opposite the Friends’ Meeting House on the hilltop above the mills for the construction of the first Catholic Church. The second and more significant arrival of the Irish comes with the planned community of Brookline c.1925 and portions of Manoa and Oakmont. In 1927 the Church of the Annunciation and The Church of the Sacred Heart together with their schools assured Catholics seeking life in the suburbs of a religious home. The third and largest phase of the Irish move comes with the large brick house tract developments of Beechwood, Chatham Park and Manoa. Today according to the 2000 US Census, Haverford Twp. ranks in the top 60 of census-recognized municipalities nationwide in percentage of population with Irish ancestry.