St. Matthias's Church was a
Church of Ireland church located on Hatch Street in Dublin. It was established in 1842 by Rev.
Maurice Day (who later became Bishop of Cashel and Waterford). Rev. Day served in St. Matthias's until 1868. The church was a Proprietary Church funded by lay people, administered by a group of trustees, and used as a chapel of ease. The Church was designed by the architect
Daniel Robertson. The foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop of Dublin
Richard Whately
Richard Whately (1 February 1787 – 8 October 1863) was an English academic, rhetorician, logician, philosopher, economist, and theologian who also served as a reforming Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. He was a leading Broad Churchman ...
on February 24, 1842. The land was given to the church by Rev.
Sir Samuel Synge-Hutchinson, 3rd Baronet
Sir Samuel Synge-Hutchinson, 3rd Baronet (22 April 1756 – 1 March 1846) was a 19th-century Anglican priest in Ireland.
He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin; and was Archdeacon of Killaloe from 1785 when he succeeded his father until his ...
who lived on nearby
Harcourt Street
Harcourt Street is a street located in Dublin City, Ireland.
Location
It is a little over in length with its northerly start at the south-east corner of St Stephen's Green and terminates in the south at the point where Adelaide road become ...
.
The Church was originally intended to be part of a development called Wellington Square, which was never built. The adjacent land was sold to the
Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway (DW&WR) company for the development of
Harcourt Street station
Harcourt Street railway station is a former railway terminus in Dublin. The station opened in 1859 and served as the terminus of the line from Dublin to Bray in County Wicklow. It closed in 1958 following the closure of the Harcourt Street ...
, with the railway line opening in 1859.
St. Matthias’s Parish would have included,
Earlsfort Terrace
Earlsfort Terrace is a street in Dublin, Ireland which was laid out in the 1830s.
History
In 1839 a row of houses on Leeson Street was demolished, which opened up a thoroughfare from St Stephen's Green to create Earlsfort Terrace. From 1843, ...
, Hatch Street, Adelaide Road, Harcourt Street and Terrace, as well as part of the South Circular Road. Following the Church's closure, the parish was merged with the parish of
St. Audoen. From 1970, the parishes of
St Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
; St Matthias and St Audoen;
St. Catherine and James Church;
St Luke
Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...
and
St Kevin came under St. Patrick's Cathedral, until 2010.
The preacher Rev.
Achilles Daunt
Achilles Daunt (1832–1878) was a noted Irish people, Irish preacher and homilist, and Church of Ireland Dean of Cork.
Early life and education
Achilles Daunt descended from a cadet branch of the Daunt family of Owlpen, Gloucestershire, settled ...
was a curate in 1855.
The playwright, folklorist, and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre,
Lady Gregory was married in 1880 in St. Matthias'.
The Rev. George Nowlan served as rector from 1935 to 1939.
Due to a lack of parishioners the last service was held and the church closed in 1956. At a final service on Sunday, 25 March 1956 to mark the closure, parishioners expressed their anger at the closure of the Church. The Church was demolished in 1958, and offices were built on the site.
The war memorial from the Church was restored and relocated to
St. Audoen's Church in Cornmarket.
War Memorials Rededicated in St Audoen’s and St Catherine’s Churches
United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough, November 9, 2015
References
{{coord missing, County Dublin
Former churches in Dublin (city)
Church of Ireland churches in Dublin (city)
Demolished buildings and structures in Dublin