The Church of St Nicholas of Myra (Without) is a

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 on Francis Street,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

that is still in use today. The site has been used as a place of worship as far back as the 12th century. The current church was built in 1829 and dedicated to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

in 1835.

History

On the site where the current church stands, a wooden chapel once existed around the 12th century. It was later demolished and a stone church and

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monastery were built after the arrival in Ireland of the Franciscan order in 1233. In 1235 John le Porter provided the land and King Henry III contributed 50 marks towards the construction. The completed church was dedicated to

St. Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

, from where the neighbouring street got its name.N. Donnelly: A Short History of Dublin Parishes. Dublin, 1916. Part VI, p. 11 The stone church was then destroyed during the Dissolution reign of Henry VIII around the 1540s.Francis Street Parish History
/ref> During the 17th century the Franciscans acquired the land for their own use, but they had to reconsider their plans due to the fallout of the Popish Plot by

Titus Oates Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the " Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II. Early life Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father Samuel (1610� ...

in 1678.Costello, Peter (1989). "Dublin Churches", Gill and Macmillan, p44 The current church was built to serve as the Metropolitan Church for Irish Catholic Archbishops by Archbishop Patrick Russell, replacing the church in Limerick Lane. Limerick lane connected Francis Street and Patrick Street. The first architect of the church was John Leeson. The building commenced in 1829, opened in 1834 and was dedicated in 1835. In 1860, the architect Patrick Byrne was commissioned to enhance the church. He added the main exterior features of the church such as the ionic portico,

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

, bell-tower and

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

. Three statues once stood on the pediment depicting Our Lady,

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

and

. At the feet of Saint Nicholas there were three golden balls to symbolise charity and an anchor to symbolise hope.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Nicholas Of Myra (Without), Francis Street Churches of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin Roman Catholic churches in Dublin (city) Saint Nicholas Neoclassical church buildings in Ireland