favourite church in ireland
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How about St Augustine and St John’s in Thomas Street……or the one up in Westland Row; great interior, …..or the Carmelite Church that supposedly holds St Valentines remains. St Paul’s on Arran Quay too: great mural…..etc, etc…There are so many great churches in Dublin.
There are some great chuches in the suburbs too built around the 30s, 40s and 50s….but pity about the frugal minimalist modern shite that was built in suburban areas from the 70’s onwards….aka concrete featureless godless blocks. No wonder the massses lost faith.….probably the finest and most enthusiastically accepted modern church in Ireland ….St.Aengus
St Audeon’s on High St? (The medieval one, not the recent Catholic one). Absolutely amazing interiors, with many genuine medieval elements (for example, a tomb depicting dancing skeletons!).
P.
This one Paul?
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/southcity/high_street/staudoen.htmlCarmelite Church that supposedly holds St Valentines remains on Aungier Street
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/southcity/aungier_street/whitefriars.htmlYup, that one. The “exterior part” (at one point the church was four times as large as it is now, and those exterior walls are still there – in fact, there’s a etching from the 18th century which depicts them as already being ruins then, with local women hanging washing from them) has been renovated over many years; I believe the church has only been open to the public for the past year or two. Well worth a visit. (More on it in “Life in Old Dublin” – http://indigo.ie/~kfinlay/Old%20Dublin/chapter13.htm)
For kitsch value, you could try the Carmelite Church on Aungior St.
P.
St Augustine & St John I say is the greatest also, amazing.
Which is more than can be said for the Pro Cathedral, I’m sorry but borrrring.
(Although the recent exterior cleaning is superb)I’ve always been fond of the Honan Chapel in UCC and had the privilege of doing some work on it a few years ago.
Another favourite is Scott’s pavilion church, but I can’t for the life of me remember where it is. I’m thinking Kerry, but couldn’t swear to it.
The Church of Christ the King at Turners Cross also deserves a mention. It’s a pretty impressive edifice, especially considering the era in which it was concieved.
de Blacam and Meaghers courtyard church (memory seriously failing again – Firhouse? Or was that a different one?) and chapel of reconciliation at Knock are both worth looking at.
For some reason Burt never did it for me, but I can accept it as a pretty singular piece of work.
Holy Trinity Church on Fr Mattew Qy in Cork – such a stunner by day and night (pictures of it are on some other thread but I can’t remember…).
Hello, helloinsane. The ‘Scott pavilion’ was actually designed by Ronnie Tallon, in Knockanure, Moyvane, Co Kerry. Bad news about de Blacam & Meagher’s Firhouse, I’m afraid – it was wrecked a few years ago, when the locals painted some of the concrete and put a cheapo pitched metal roof over the whole lot to make it look more like a church. The interior of their confessional chapel at Knock has also been messed with.
Shows how Dublin-centric this site is!! DOn’t ye realise we have churches down here in the sticks too? St John’s in Kilkenny is just one of several superb churches and cathedrals the city can boast
Very true.
St Patricks in Dundalk is a wonderful Gothic revival, late Georgian cathedral, modelled on Kings College in Cambridge, and its magnificent bell-tower acts as a wonderful beacon for the town from a distance.
I’ve been thinking about this one…. I have a few with caveats….
St Finbarrs in Cork for its opulence…
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/cork/cork/st_finn_barres.htmlHoly Cross Abbey for its simplicity
St Peters, Laragh cos its unusual
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/monaghan/laragh/church.htmlSt Macartans in Monaghan which I loved as a kid and now drives me close to fury when I pass it as the interior has been butchered….
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/monaghan/monaghan/stmacartans.htmlNever liked Burt, preferred Cresslough or Sion Mills
Was in Limerick at the weekend, St Mary’s is a fine Cathedral too – probably the nicest of the old Church of Ireland cathedrals I’ve visited.
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/limerick/limerick/st_marys_cathedral.htmlThere are some great churches around the country, St. Finbar’s and the above links are brilliant examples of such edifices.
Such devotion from Irish folk who had nothing then yet gave what they could toward the building of such great churches. Great work from the architects too, even if they may have been formulaic. What great landmarks they left us today.
Pity about the frugal shit that was built in suburban housing estates from the early 70’s onwards….ie concrete windowless blocks…truely godless and inhuman places.
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