The roots of the charity lie in Pope Paul VI's 1967 encyclical Populorum Progressio,[5] which called for people to take notice and respond to the injustices that were occurring all round the world.

Then, in response to the 1973 floods which ravaged Bangladesh, Cardinal William Conway saw the need for a church agency which would co-ordinate charitable donations originating in Ireland.

[9] The aims of the charity's programmes include supporting gender equality, responding to emergencies and disasters, and addressing the impacts of climate change.

[11] Overseas, Trócaire works across a number of programme areas and delivers support through local partner organisations and churches, with the goal of helping communities and families to free themselves from poverty, cope with climate change, promote gender equality, tackle injustice, provide emergency relief and defend human rights.

[13] In 1984, Bishop Eamonn Casey, then chairman of Trócaire, refused to meet Ronald Reagan during the president's visit to Ireland, as a protest against the United States government's support of the Salvadoran military.