In the heat of a bright Dublin afternoon, St. Saviour’s felt like a church still held together by prayer, study, and stone.

← The Church

St. Saviour’s Priory

Dominick StreetTuesday, 14 July 2026

1stvisit

Tuesday, 14 July 2026 Dry, sunny, warm afternoon. · 22°C Afternoon

St. Saviour’s is a Dominican church in Dublin’s north inner city, rooted in an 800-year Dominican presence and housed in a Gothic Revival building by J.J. McCarthy. It is both a parish church and a living priory, where prayer, study, formation, and devotion to St. Martin de Porres meet in the daily life of the city.

§Architecture & history

Built: 1861
Architect: J.J. McCarthy
Style: Gothic Revival
Order: Dominican (OP)
Dedication: St. Saviour's
Heritage: Protected Structure

The Dominicans first arrived in Dublin in 1224. Their present church on Dominick Street belongs to the nineteenth-century Catholic rebuilding of the city: a Gothic Revival church by J.J. McCarthy, opened in the 1860s, later becoming the local parish church in 1974. Today it remains more than a historical monument: it is a Dominican priory, a house of studies for the Irish Province, a parish for local and international communities, and the National Shrine of St. Martin de Porres.

Dominican priory church.

Constituted in 1974. Dominican priory church (St Saviour's).

Stained glass
Pipe organ
Reliquary of Venerable Matt Talbot (a piece of his pillow and threads from his jumper, donated by his sister in 1930); devotion to Matt Talbot, invoked by people struggling with addiction

§Notes

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

Matt's Door

The parish website records that Matt Talbot always entered and left the church by a side entrance beside St Joseph's altar, still called Matt's Door, and that a reliquary holds a piece of his pillow and threads from his jumper, donated by his sister in 1930.

The tower that was never built

A proposed tower and spire were never constructed; according to Archiseek the funds were redirected to the adjoining priory.

Dedicated but never solemnly consecrated

Wikipedia states that the church has never been solemnly consecrated, while the Irish Dominicans' website speaks of the church as consecrated in 1861. The available sources do not resolve the difference, which may turn on the distinction between dedication and solemn consecration.

Timeline

1852
Cornerstone blessed Archiseek records that the cornerstone was blessed on 8 September 1852, on a Lower Dominick Street site previously occupied by four houses and a coach factory. The original estimate was 15,000 pounds.
1861
Church dedicated The church was dedicated on 17 January 1861. Days earlier the Freeman's Journal described the new interior, including the golden semi dome of the sanctuary and its stained glass windows.
1885
Priory built beside the church The NIAH records a Gothic Revival Dominican priory adjoining the church, designed by John Loftus Robinson, 1885. Wikipedia gives 1874 to 1877 for priory construction and 1885 for the Robinson building; the sources differ on the exact building campaign.
1897
Telford organ installed The church organ was built in 1897 by Telford and Telford, described as the leading Irish organ builders of the period.
1925
Death of Matt Talbot on Granby Lane On Trinity Sunday, 7 June 1925, Matt Talbot collapsed and died on Granby Lane while on his way to Mass. A Dominican friar from St Saviour's attended his body. His sister donated a reliquary to the church in 1930.
1974
St Saviour's becomes a parish church The Archdiocese of Dublin records the parish of Dominick Street as constituted in 1974, with the Dominican church as its parish church.
2000
House of Formation established Since 2000 the priory has hosted the House of Formation for the Irish Dominicans, and the community describes the house as a studium for Dominican students.

People

James Joseph McCarthy (1817-1882) Architect of the church — Leading Irish Gothic Revival architect. The NIAH appraisal states that St Saviour's has been regarded as the finest Dublin church he designed.
John Loftus Robinson (died 1894) Architect of the adjoining priory — The NIAH credits the Gothic Revival priory adjoining the church to J. Robinson, 1885.
Telford and Telford Built the organ in 1897 — Dublin organ building firm described as the leading Irish organ builders of the nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries.
Venerable Matt Talbot (1856-1925) Dublin labourer venerated for his conversion from alcoholism — Talbot attended Mass at St Saviour's and died on nearby Granby Lane on 7 June 1925 on his way to Mass. The church keeps a reliquary and a side entrance known as Matt's Door, which he used. Pope Paul VI declared him Venerable in 1975.
Fr Austin Flannery OP (1925-2008) Dominican editor and publisher — Wikipedia's article on the priory lists Austin Flannery, known as an editor of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, among the community, citing his time there as editor from 1957 to 1960.
Fr Fergal O'Connor OP (died 2005) Philosopher and social justice activist — Wikipedia's article on the priory records Fergal O'Connor as a member of the community from 1961 to 2005.

§If you go

Mass times

Sunday: 9:30 AM · 11:30 AM · 8:30 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Monday: 7:25 AM (Weekday Mass) · 11:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Tuesday: 7:25 AM (Weekday Mass) · 11:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Wednesday: 7:25 AM (Weekday Mass) · 11:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Thursday: 7:25 AM (Weekday Mass) · 11:00 AM (Weekday Mass)
Friday: 7:25 AM (Weekday Mass) · 11:00 AM (Weekday Mass)

Checked 10 Jul 2026

The journey

A short cross-city route into Dublin’s north inner city, ending near the Dominick Street, Dorset Street, and Bolton Street area.

Address: Dominick Street, Dublin 1

Open route ↗ Official website ↗