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Westland Row Church

St Andrew's, Westland Row

Westland RowWednesday, 5 August 2026

Wednesday, 5 August 2026

St Andrew's on Westland Row was begun in 1832, opened for worship in 1834 and completed in 1837, one of the first large Catholic churches raised in Dublin after Catholic Emancipation. James Bolger is credited as architect, adapting earlier plans, and the granite Doric portico carries a statue of St Andrew. The parish, constituted around 1750, today celebrates Mass for city centre, Lithuanian and Chinese congregations.

§Architecture & history

Built: 1837
Architect: James Bolger
Style: Classical (Greek Revival)
Dedication: St Andrew's
Heritage: Protected Structure

The congregation moved from a chapel on Townsend Street; a local commemorative history quotes Daniel O'Connell urging, leave Townsend Street, let us build our church in Westland Row. Construction began in 1832, the church opened for worship in 1834 and was finished in 1837 at a reported cost of 18,000 pounds raised by subscription. A bell tower was added in 1846 and a pedimented reredos in 1860. John White built the three-manual organ in 1870-1871, incorporating pipes by the French builder Aristide Cavaille-Coll. The ceiling failed in 1940 and the interior was renovated in 1942. The parish today serves city centre congregations including Lithuanian and Chinese communities, and its schools were attended by Patrick and Willie Pearse.

Oscar Wilde was baptised here.

Constituted c. 1750. St Andrew's church built 1832-1837.

Pipe organ
Miraculous Medal devotions after Monday morning Mass; weekly Eucharistic exposition; mortuary chapel with statue of Our Lady of Sorrows by Willie Pearse

§Notes

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

Patk. Pierce in the school rolls

A commemorative booklet produced by the Westland Row past pupils union reproduces school rolls showing the Pearse brothers as pupils of the Westland Row schools: William enrolled with his father's occupation given as sculptor, and Patrick appearing as Patk. Pierce in class listings from the years 1888 to 1897.

Source: Cuimhneachan, Westland Row Past Pupils Union

Four parishes in the ceiling

A parish history notes that the interior decoration includes the twelve apostles in the ceiling segments and figures of the four saints of the parishes united around 1750 to form the parish: Andrew, Peter, Mark and Anne.

French pipes in a Dublin organ

The 1870-1871 John White organ incorporates pipes by Aristide Cavaille-Coll, the leading French organ builder of the nineteenth century.

Timeline

1832
Foundation stone laid, construction begins The foundation stone was laid in 1832 and construction began, replacing the congregation's chapel on Townsend Street.
1834
Church opens for worship The church opened for public worship in 1834; Wikipedia gives a consecration date of 2 January 1834. Work continued until 1837.
1837
Completion The building was completed in 1837 at a reported cost of 18,000 pounds raised by subscription.
1846
Bell tower added The NIAH records the addition of a bell tower in 1846.
1871
John White organ completed John White built a three-manual organ in 1870-1871 at a cost of about 1,000 pounds, incorporating pipes by Aristide Cavaille-Coll.
1942
Interior renovated after ceiling failure Following a ceiling incident in 1940, the interior was renovated in 1942.

People

James Bolger Architect — The heritage record attributes the design to James Bolger, adapting plans made for the earlier Townsend Street chapel by John Leeson, with assistance from Francis Johnston and James Lever. One source gives his first name as John.
Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) Advocate of the Westland Row site — O'Connell attended the public meeting that settled the dispute over the site, and a parish commemorative history quotes him urging the move from Townsend Street to Westland Row. The available sources do not establish that he laid the foundation stone.
John Smyth (1776-1840) Sculptor of the St Andrew statue — The Portland stone statue of St Andrew above the portico is credited to John Smyth; Archiseek spells the name Smith.
John Hogan (1800-1858) Sculptor — The NIAH credits Hogan with a Transfiguration group and monument sculpture in the church; a parish history adds four Evangelist figures. Hogan's studio stood in nearby Wentworth Place, later renamed Hogan Place.
Willie Pearse (1881-1916) Sculptor of the mortuary chapel statue; former pupil — The NIAH records a Virgin statue by William Pearse in the mortuary chapel; the parish commemorative history identifies it as Our Lady of Sorrows. Willie Pearse, executed after the 1916 Rising, attended the Westland Row schools with his brother Patrick.
Dominic Corrigan (1802-1880) Physician buried in the crypt — The physician Sir Dominic Corrigan, known for his work on heart disease, is buried in the church crypt.
Richard Turner (1798-1881) Designer of the roof — Wikipedia credits the ironmaster Richard Turner with designing the church roof.
Very Rev Alan Hilliard Parish administrator — The Archdiocese of Dublin parish page lists Very Rev Alan Hilliard as administrator, with curate Rev Teodor Avram SJ, chaplains Rev Ramunas Gerdauskas and Rev Anthony Hou, and deacon Rev Dermot McCarthy, as accessed in July 2026.

Also known as: St Andrew's Chapel, Townsend Street · Westland Row Church

§If you go

Mass times

Sunday: 8:30 AM · 10:00 AM · 11:30 AM (Lithuanian Mass · Lithuanian) · 12:30 PM · 2:00 PM (Chinese Mass · Chinese)
Saturday: 10:00 AM · 6:30 PM
Monday: 10:00 AM (Weekday Mass) · 12:45 PM (Weekday Mass)
Tuesday: 10:00 AM (Weekday Mass) · 12:45 PM (Weekday Mass)
Wednesday: 11:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Thursday: 10:00 AM (Weekday Mass) · 12:45 PM (Weekday Mass)
Friday: 10:00 AM (Weekday Mass) · 12:45 PM (Weekday Mass)
Holy Days: 8:30 AM (Holy Day Mass) · 10:00 AM (Holy Day Mass) · 12:45 PM (Holy Day Mass)

Checked 10 Jul 2026

Address: Westland Row, Dublin 2

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