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Raheny Church

Our Lady Mother of Divine Grace, Raheny

RahenyModern church of the Vatican II years with a triangular entrance motif recalling Romanesque doorways

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

§What is known
Built
1962 · Peppard and Duffy
Style
Modern church of the Vatican II years with a triangular entrance motif recalling Romanesque doorways
Dedication
Our Lady Mother of Divine Grace

Mass times

Sunday
8:30 AM · 10:00 AM · 11:30 AM
Saturday
6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Tuesday
10:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Wednesday
10:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Thursday
10:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Friday
10:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Holy Days
10:00 AM (Holy Day Mass) · 6:00 PM (Holy Day Mass)
§Where
Address
Howth Road, Raheny, Dublin 5
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.

An architecture blogger on the triangles of Raheny

The architecture blog Built Dublin describes the entrance framed in a massive triangle filled with repeating smaller triangles that cast strong shadows, thin stained glass panels like gills set in concrete, and a concertina pattern along the aisle walls. The writer calls the building striking, awkward, a little ungainly, and then, on reflection, successful in joining traditional elements to a modern structure.

Source: Built Dublin

Built beside a holy well

The parish history records that the site traditionally held the holy well of Saint Assam, patron of the older Raheny churches, though all traces of the well have disappeared.

A church of the Council years

The NIAH appraisal points out that the church was built during the years of the Second Vatican Council, 1962 to 1965, and reflects the experimental ecclesiastical design of that moment.

Timeline

  • 1952
    Site purchased The field known as The Shrubbery, at St Assam's Well, was purchased as the site for a new church.
  • 1959
    First sod cut The first sod on the site was cut on 3 May 1959.
  • 1960
    Foundation stone laid Archbishop John Charles McQuaid blessed and laid the foundation stone on 24 April 1960; construction work commenced on 6 May 1960.
  • 1962
    Church blessed and dedicated Archbishop McQuaid blessed, dedicated and opened the church on Sunday 22 July 1962, with about 1,500 people attending. Regular worship then ceased at St Assam's.
  • 1966
    Raheny becomes a separate parish After centuries within the Union Parish of Coolock, and a brief union with Killester, Raheny emerged as a separate parish in 1966.

People

  • Peppard and Duffy Architects of the church — The Dublin practice designed the 1962 church; John du Moulin Ltd was the builder.
  • Richard Joseph King (1907-1974) Stained glass and Stations of the Cross — The NIAH record attributes the stained glass to Richard Joseph King; the parish history credits him with the Stations of the Cross in enamel on bronze.
  • John Charles McQuaid (1895-1973) Archbishop of Dublin — He laid the foundation stone in 1960 and blessed and dedicated the church in 1962.

Also known as: St Assam's Church