St. George's Church, Dublin

About

St. George's Church is a former parish church in Dublin, Ireland. Designed by Francis Johnston, it is considered to be one of his finest works. The structure is located at Hardwicke Place, just north of the city centre, though when it was opened this was considered to be in Drumcondra. The elegant spire, 200 feet (61.0 m) high, became a landmark of the north inner city. Along with St Andrew's Church, Chennai, it is considered one of the finest stylistic "daughter" churches to London's St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Construction of the "New St. George's church, Drumcondra", at the end of Temple Street commenced in 1802 by the Church of Ireland for the parish of St. George, which had been established by the - St. George's Parish Act 1793 ( 33 Geo. 3. c. 53 (I)). There had been an Old St. George's church, Drumcondra, in nearby Hill Street (then called Lower Temple Street) erected by Sir John Eccles. The Eccles family were patrons of the "new church". Another " Drumcondra Church " is the St. John the Baptist Church, in Church Street, Dublin.

The original site acquired for the new church (donated by Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy ) was on Whitworth Road, but then the present site was selected, which at the time was open fields. A temporary chapel was built on the Whitworth Road site and the churchyard was retained when St. George's was completed, this site was later taken over by the Whitworth Hospital (later named Drumcondra Hospital ). The Greek inscription on the portico, ΔΟΞΑ ΕΝ ΥΨΙΣΤΟΙΣ ΘΕΩ ( doxa en hypsistois Theō ), translates to ' Glory to God in the Highest '.

It was a 'free church', within the Established Church, where no pew rents were paid and it survived on voluntary subscriptions.

Twenty-two years after the church was built, problems developed when the wide roof began to splay further than it should, due to the strain of the wide-span timber trusses. Civil engineer Robert Mallet, whose father ran an iron foundry in Dublin, created cast-iron trusses to haul the church back into shape.

In the 1980s scaffolding had to be erected around the spire because the Portland stone was cracking due to expansion of the iron cramps that held it in place. The Church of Ireland, having tried in vain to raise funds for the restoration of the church, sold the building in 1991 to an actor, Mr Sean Simon, who had plans to turn it into a theatre.

After its deconsecration, the bells (which Leopold Bloom heard ringing in Ulysses ) were removed to Taney Parish church in Dundrum, while the ornate pulpit was carved up to decorate Thomas Read's pub in Parliament Street.

The church in Temple Street then became the Temple Theatre, then a night-club, but further attempts were made to raise public funds for its restoration; first, in 1991, to celebrate Dublin's role as European City of Culture, and later from the Millennium Committee.

In 2004 the building found a new purchaser who oversaw extensive restoration and renovation to provide office facilities.

Construction of the "New St. George's church, Drumcondra", at the end of Temple Street commenced in 1802 by the Church of Ireland for the parish of St. George, which had been established by the - St. George's Parish Act 1793 ( 33 Geo. 3. c. 53 (I)). There had been an Old St. George's church, Drumcondra, in nearby Hill Street (then called Lower Temple Street) erected by Sir John Eccles. The Eccles family were patrons of the "new church". Another " Drumcondra Church " is the St. John the Baptist Church, in Church Street, Dublin.

The original site acquired for the new church (donated by Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy ) was on Whitworth Road, but then the present site was selected, which at the time was open fields. A temporary chapel was built on the Whitworth Road site and the churchyard was retained when St. George's was completed, this site was later taken over by the Whitworth Hospital (later named Drumcondra Hospital ). The Greek inscription on the portico, ΔΟΞΑ ΕΝ ΥΨΙΣΤΟΙΣ ΘΕΩ ( doxa en hypsistois Theō ), translates to ' Glory to God in the Highest '.

It was a 'free church', within the Established Church, where no pew rents were paid and it survived on voluntary subscriptions.

Twenty-two years after the church was built, problems developed when the wide roof began to splay further than it should, due to the strain of the wide-span timber trusses. Civil engineer Robert Mallet, whose father ran an iron foundry in Dublin, created cast-iron trusses to haul the church back into shape.

In the 1980s scaffolding had to be erected around the spire because the Portland stone was cracking due to expansion of the iron cramps that held it in place. The Church of Ireland, having tried in vain to raise funds for the restoration of the church, sold the building in 1991 to an actor, Mr Sean Simon, who had plans to turn it into a theatre.

After its deconsecration, the bells (which Leopold Bloom heard ringing in Ulysses ) were removed to Taney Parish church in Dundrum, while the ornate pulpit was carved up to decorate Thomas Read's pub in Parliament Street.

The church in Temple Street then became the Temple Theatre, then a night-club, but further attempts were made to raise public funds for its restoration; first, in 1991, to celebrate Dublin's role as European City of Culture, and later from the Millennium Committee.

In 2004 the building found a new purchaser who oversaw extensive restoration and renovation to provide office facilities.

Shortly after the construction of the church, in 1813, the population of the parish was 5,322 males and 7,690 females (these included Roman Catholics as well as Protestants).

An early Rector of St George's parish was Revd William Bushe, who, in 1823, invited Roman Catholics who were resident in the parish to discuss matters of faith. The church was filled for his series of evangelical Wednesday evening lectures which discussed the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. Future Bishop of Killaloe, Sterling Berry served as curate from 1878 to 1884. Future Bishop of Meath and Archbishop of Dublin Joseph Peacocke served as Rector from 1873 to 1878.

Rev. Charles Henry Minchin also served in the church. Rev. Samuel Eccles was also a chaplain to the church. Rev. Cecil Faull also served the church as a curate, and then as Rector from 1971 until 1980.