1830 – St. Mary’s Church of Ireland, Donnybrook, Dublin

The foundation stone of St Mary’s was laid in 1827 and the church consecrated in April 1830. The original building was by John Semple, with the transepts, chancel and vestry added by Joseph Welland in 1859, A later organ chamber from 1906 by J.F. Fuller. The church was built to replace an earlier one, also called St Mary’s, that traced its roots back to the 12th century.

3 July 3rd 2020 marked the end of an era for St Mary’s Church when it was deconsecrated by the Archbishop of Dublin, following a decision of the Select Vestry earlier in the year. The decision was made due to the structural instability of the church building and the decline in the size of the congregation. Following the closure of the church the Parish was merged with Irishtown, to form the Irishtown and Donnybrook Union of Parishes, and served by St. Matthew’s Parish Church. In 2022, the Royal Dublin Society acquired the church.

THIS pulpit (of which we give a lithographic view), recently erected in St. Mary’s Church, Donnybrook, is composed of Caen stone supported by marble columns. The plinth , or base, is Kilkenny marble, and bears the following inscription in raised Gothic characters :-” To the glory of God and in memory of Arthur Gore Ryder, D.D., Canon and Sub-Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, and Rector of this Parish, 1867-1889. Erected by brother clergy, parishioners, and other friends . ” Over this plinth there rises the columned support, a large centre shaft of red marble, surrounded by darker shafts of dark grey marble having richly carved capitals , supporting the floor cornice of the pulpit, which is circular. Rising from this the pulpit is octagonal, having at each angle a cluster of red and green marble columns with moulded annulets . Each face of the octagon is filled with moulded and cusped arches,with diapered carved spandrils supporting a richly-carved cornice capped with red marble. All the marbles are from Irish quarries-green from Connemara, red from Cork, grey from Ballinasloe, and black from Kilkenny. The desk is of polished brass. The work was carried out in an excellent manner by Mr. A. P. Sharp, of 17 Great Brunswick- street.
The Irish Builder, May 1 1890