← The Church
To come

Rathmines Church

Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners, Rathmines

RathminesClassical with copper dome

This church is still ahead. Its chapter will be written when its visit comes.

§What is known
Built
1856 · Patrick Byrne (dome rebuilt 1920s)
Style
Classical with copper dome
Dedication
Mary Immaculate

Mass times

Sunday
9:00 AM · 11:00 AM
Saturday
6:00 PM
Monday
6:00 PM (Weekday Mass)
Tuesday
10:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Thursday
10:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Friday
10:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
§Where
Address
Lower Rathmines Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6
Open route ↗ Official website ↗ Return to the map

No photographs yet — the essay appears only after the visit.

§Notes

Fragments gathered while researching this church: stories, curiosities, people and dates.

Referenced in Ulysses and in a 2021 novel

The church's blue dome is referenced in James Joyce's Ulysses, and the building appears in Sally Rooney's 2021 novel Beautiful World, Where Are You.

Timeline

  • 1854
    Church built Wikipedia and Archiseek date the original church, designed by Patrick Byrne, to 1854. A separate source, Built Dublin, gives 1856 as the completion year; this is recorded as a conflict.
  • 1920
    Fire destroys interior, roof and dome A fire on 26 January 1920 destroyed the interior, roof and original dome. Built Dublin states only the sacristy and the shrine to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour remained standing.
  • 1922
    Church reopened after rebuilding The rebuilt church, with an enlarged dome, reopened by 1922 under the supervision of Ralph Henry Byrne.
  • 1923
    Irish Times reports dome construction details An Irish Times report of 19 April 1923, cited by Built Dublin, gives dimensions of the new dome, about 61 feet in diameter at the base and about 160 feet from ground to cross including the lantern.

People

  • Patrick Byrne Architect of the original 1854 church — Patrick Byrne designed the original church in the Greek style.
  • Ralph Henry Byrne Supervised the post-fire reconstruction — Ralph Henry Byrne, son of William Henry Byrne, oversaw the rebuilding after the 1920 fire, including the enlarged dome.