St. Mary's Church, Donnybrook

St. Mary's Church was a Church of Ireland church in Donnybrook, Dublin entered via Anglesea Road.

The church was consecrated in April 1830 on Anglesea Road. It was built to a design of John Semple in 1827 near the site of a much earlier church which was demolished soon after.[1] Simmonscourt castle would have been in the immediate vicinity and would have influenced the choice of location. The steeple was damaged in a storm in 1839 and not rebuilt again until 1859.

The church was de-consecrated by Archbishop of Dublin, Michael Jackson, on 3 July 2020.[2] Following the closure of the church the Parish was merged with Irishtown, to form the Irishtown and Donnybrook Union of Parishes, and served by St. Matthew's Parish Church.[3]

In the grounds is the War Memorial Cross, commemorating parishioners who died in the First World War, Second World War and Korean War.[4]

The altar furniture from the Church of Ireland Training College, Kildare Place, was given to St. Mary's following the College of Educations move Rathmines in 1969. It was returned to the college following the churches closure in 2020[2] and was moved to and rededicated in DCU All Hallows College Chapel, by Archbishop Michael Jackson of Dublin, for use by Church of Ireland Centre and community there.[5]

Canon Arthur Gore Ryder DD, was the first Rector of Donnybrook (1867-1889) following St. Mary's separation from the archdeaconry of Dublin. Other clergy included Rector Rev. Dr. Robert Walsh and the Rev. Edward (Ted) Ardis. [6]

Two ancestors of Meghan Markle, Mary McCue and Thomas Bird, an English soldier, were married at St Mary's church, Donnybrook, in 1860.[7]

In 2022, the Royal Dublin Society acquired the church for €4m.[8]

References
  1. "CO. DUBLIN, DUBLIN, SIMMONSCOURT ROAD, CHURCH OF ST MARY (CI, DONNYBROOK PARISH) Dictionary of Irish Architects -". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  2. Closing Service at St Mary’s, Donnybrook The United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough , Friday 3rd, July 2020.
  3. St. Matthews Church
  4. Donnybrook St.Mary's War Memorial Cross, Irish War Memorials.
  5. Original Kildare Place Altar Furniture Rededicated for use in Church of Ireland Centre, The United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough, November 25, 2022.
  6. End of an Era for St. Mary's Church by Eoin Meegan, Newsfour.ie, November, 2020.
  7. Gillian Halliday, "Meghan Markle's cousins could be walking streets of Belfast" Archived 2021-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, Belfast Telegraph, 16 July 2018, accessed 7 March 2021
  8. "RDS buys St Mary's church in Ballsbridge for €4m". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 August 2023.

53°19′29″N 6°13′48″W

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