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To come

St Anthony's, Clontarf

ClontarfDescribed by the NIAH as post-Modern; recorded here under the nearest controlled category, modernist

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

§What is known
Built
1975 · No source accessed names the architect of the 1975 church. The NIAH record does not specify a designer and the parish history names none. The 1896 predecessor building, the former Clontarf Town Hall, was designed by township surveyor William G. Perrott, b
Style
Described by the NIAH as post-Modern; recorded here under the nearest controlled category, modernist
Dedication
St Anthony's

Mass times

Sunday
11:30 AM
Saturday
5:30 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)
§Where
Address
St Lawrence's Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3
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.

A church that was a town hall and a cinema

Before its dedication in 1927, the first St Anthony's had been Clontarf Town Hall, a meeting place linked to the planning of the 1916 Rising, and from December 1919 a picture theatre. The building survives beside the current church as the parish hall.

Timeline

  • 1896
    Clontarf Town Hall built The future first St Anthony's was erected in 1896 as Clontarf Town Hall, designed by township surveyor William G. Perrott and built by Robert Farquharson on a site donated by Colonel Edward Vernon.
  • 1916
    Republican meetings in the town hall before the Rising Encyclopedia and heritage sources record that a meeting held in the town hall in January 1916 agreed the proposal that a rebellion should proceed, and that James Connolly was persuaded there to join the planned rising.
  • 1927
    Chapel of ease dedicated to St Anthony opened After purchase by the parish of Clontarf, the converted hall was dedicated to St Anthony of Padua and opened by Archbishop Edward Byrne on 28 August 1927.
  • 1966
    St Anthony's constituted as a parish St Anthony's became a parish in 1966, constituted from the parish of St John the Baptist, Clontarf.
  • 1975
    Foundation stone of the new church Archbishop Dermot Ryan laid the foundation stone of the present church in May 1975.
  • 1975
    New church opened and blessed The new church, seating 750 and built at a cost of 172,000 pounds, was officially opened and blessed on 23 November 1975.
  • 1998
    Renovation with new stained glass A 1998 renovation added staggered walls with narrow openings holding stained glass, which the NIAH says enhances the ecclesiastical character of the building.

People

  • Canon Dempsey Parish priest of Clontarf who acquired the town hall — The parish history credits Canon Dempsey PP with purchasing the former town hall in 1925 for conversion into a chapel of ease.
  • Edward Byrne Archbishop of Dublin, opened the first St Anthony's in 1927 — Archbishop Edward Byrne opened the converted chapel of ease on 28 August 1927.
  • Dermot Ryan Archbishop of Dublin, laid the foundation stone and opened the 1975 church — Archbishop Dermot Ryan laid the foundation stone in May 1975; the church was opened and blessed on 23 November 1975.
  • William G. Perrott Designer of the 1896 predecessor building — Township surveyor William G. Perrott designed the 1896 Clontarf Town Hall, later the first St Anthony's and now the parish hall. He did not design the 1975 church, whose architect is not named in the sources accessed.

Also known as: St Anthony's Hall (formerly Clontarf Town Hall)