Fr Charles Barclay was born in London in 1938. He was educated at Blairs Junior Seminary in Aberdeen and at Drygrange. He was ordained a Priest in Edinburgh in 1961 for St Andrew's and Edinburgh Archdiocese. His first appointment was as assistant Priest at St Mary's in Stirling from 1962 to 1964. His next posting was at St John Vianney's in Edinburgh for 5 years from 1964 to 1969.

At this point Fr Barclay went to Eire to work in the Catechetical Centre in Dundalk for a year and upon returning to Scotland in 1970 became Professor at Drygrange Seminary for 8 years until 1978. He returned to parish work at St Andrew's Livingston in 1978 where he stayed until 1984. His last parish posting before a spell on foreign missions was to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Kirkcaldy from 1984 to 1988.

Fr Barclay then went on foreign missionary work to South America most notably Brazil where he stayed until his return to Scotland in 1990. It was then that he came to Kilsyth shortly after the sudden death of Fr Bernard Doonan who had been the previous Parish Priest of St Patrick's. Working with assistant Priest Fr Steve Gilhooley, who himself had only recently arrived in Kilsyth shortly before Fr Doonan's sudden death, Fr Barclay became the Parish Administrator until a new permanent Parish Priest could be found. In January 1991 Fr Gerry Hand was appointed the new PP of St Patrick's and after a short period of overlap Fr Barclay was then appointed as the Parish Priest of St John the Baptist at Corstorphine in Edinburgh.

Fr Barclay died in 2001 at the age of 62 after spending 40 years as a priest.