St Finian's church is a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

building in the village of

Newcastle, County Dublin Newcastle () is a village in the south-western part of South Dublin Counties of Ireland, county, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the Barony (Ireland), barony of the same name. It was the loc ...

. The core structures of the church, including the west tower and chancel, are dated to the 15th century. These include a residential tower, attached to the church, in which the priest lived. In the late 15th century, an elaborate window was added on the eastern side. Other structures of the church date from redevelopments and expansion works in the late 18th century. Newcastle, at the edge of

the Pale The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...

, was frequently attacked by the Irish striking out from the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...

; by the early 15th century there were six fortified tower-houses in Newcastle. The tower in the church is the only one still remaining in a habitable condition. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church in Newcastle, also dedicated to Saint Finian, was built in 1813. Both churches, Catholic and Episcopalian, are included on the

Record of Protected Structures Conservation in the Republic of Ireland is overseen by a number of statutory and non-governmental agencies, including those with responsibility for conservation of the built environment and conservation of the natural environment in Ireland. Con ...

South Dublin County Council South Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act ...

References

External links

Church of Ireland website - Celbridge Christ Church (Kildrought) parish

IMG CoINCastleDub5560

Former Roman Catholic church buildings Fortified church buildings Churches in South Dublin (county) Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough Church of Ireland church buildings in the Republic of Ireland {{Ireland-church-stub