St. Paul's is a former

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

sited on Arran Quay,

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. The church is used currently by a Catholic youth grouphttps://www.facebook.com/stpaulschurcharranquay/ and by the St. Gregrorios

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, ...

History

The church was built between 1835 and 1837 to the design of Patrick Byrne who also designed nearby St Audoen's Catholic Church and the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve's) on Merchants Quay.Costello, Peter (1989). "Dublin Churches", Gill and Macmillan, p50 Eamonn and Sinead De Valera were married at St. Paul's in 1910 and in 1852 Captain Charles Boycott married Annie Dunne. It is currently (2017) closed to the public after a decline in numbers living in the parish. The church is used currently by a Catholic youth group and by the St. Gregrorios

Architecture

St Paul's was Byrne's first church. The cornerstone was laid on St Patrick's Day 1835 by the archbishop of Dublin, Dr Daniel Murray.

Exterior

The church was designed by Patrick Byrne and built between 1835 and 1844, not long after

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

. The front has a granite portico with four Ionic columns. The three-stage Italianate belltower, with its copper dome, was completed in 1843 and is a visual focal point along the quay, except where blocked by the dome of the

Four Courts The Four Courts ( ga, Na Ceithre Cúirteanna) is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit ...

to the east. The inclusion of a clock, less common on Catholic Churches, implies a sense of public responsibility thus increasing the status of the building."Saint Paul's Roman Catholic Church, Arran Quay, Lincoln Lane", National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
/ref> St Paul's contains a peal of eight bells cast by James Sheridan, of the Eagle Foundry, Church Street. These were originally hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

for most of their existence; however, they were converted into a chime (operated by one person only) in 1950, and can no longer be rung full-circle. A statue of St. Paul above the portico tops the apex, flanked by statues of SS. Peter and Patrick. The statues are the work of Joseph Robinson Kirk and were added about 1870. The large centre door leads to the church proper, while the smaller doors on either side give access to the balcony."1837 – St Paul’s Church, Arran Quay, Dublin", Archiseek
/ref>

Interior

The entrance hallway, inside the main door, has a mosaic floor. a marble baptismal font is in the rear of nave. It has a shallow barrel-vaulted coffered ceiling. Steps to the altar are of marble, as is the altar itself. The mural above the altar is a copy of Rubens' Conversion of St. Paul, done by F. S. Barff around 1863, which replaced an earlier depiction of the crucifixion. The apse is lit by a skylight.

References

External links

St. Paul's Church, Arran Quay, Dublin, Ireland

St. Paul's Church, Arran Quay, Dublin, Ireland FB Page
{{coord missing, County Dublin Churches of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin Roman Catholic churches in Dublin (city) Greek Revival architecture in Ireland