St. Catherine's is a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church on Meath Street,
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
that is in use today. It was dedicated in 1858 and is the second church to occupy the same site. There is also a small grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes located on the grounds.
History
There have been two churches on this site, the first being an octagonal chapel opened in 1782.
[Short Histories of Dublin Parishes. Part IX. at www.chaptersofdublin.com] The chapel and a presbytery were knocked down to make way for a bigger church. The foundation stone of the new church was laid on 30 June 1852. The architect was James Joseph McCarthy and construction of the main church was completed in March 1858, but the original design of the upper portion of the tower and spire was never completed. The church was dedicated to
Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...
on 30 June 1858.
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
's first short story, ''
The Sisters'', concerns a former priest of St. Catherine's Church, Meath Street.
A small grotto was built on the grounds and dedicated to
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...
. It was renovated and rededicated in 2000.
The church suffered damage from an arson attack in January 2012.
Irish Times - Man (48) charged with arson after fire at historic Dublin Church
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Gallery
Image:St._Catherines_Meath_Street_Inside.JPG, Inside the church.
Image:St._Catherines_Meath_Street_Alter.JPG, The altar before the fire of January 2012.
Image:St._Catherines_Meath_Street_Grotto.JPG, The grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes.
See also
* St Catherine's L.F.C.
References
External links
Parish Website
*St. Catherine's on th
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherine's, Meath Street
Churches of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin
Roman Catholic churches in Dublin (city)
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1858