Links   Festival of Flowers Home Page
 

St. Mary's Church of Ireland Leixlip - 700 Years of History

St. Mary’s Church Leixlip is both the oldest church and also the oldest public building still in use in Leixlip. The site of St. Mary’s, located at the confluence of the rivers Liffey and Rye Water, has been a place of Christian worship since at least the thirteenth century and there are indications of earlier occupation.

St. Mary’s is  a building of considerable local and national importance.  This ancient heritage, is held in trust by each generation, and carries with it a responsibility not only to manage and preserve but also to develop and enhance the architectural and historical fabric of the building for future generations.

St. Mary’s today - The present building at St. Mary’s consists of:

Tower - the western residential tower at St. Mary’s dates from the fifteenth century and is one of the finest examples of the more than one hundred such church towers that were built in Ireland in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

Church - the nave, chancel and Sunday school annex which were built sometime in the mid- eighteenth century, although they are based on earlier foundations and walls.  The church also has several memorial tablets of significant historical interest.

Fittings - windows, gallery, clock, doors and other internal furniture and fittings dating primarily from the major reconstruction of the mid-eighteenth century and also from a modernisation project which took place in the mid-Victorian period.

Grounds - a graveyard, with a recently restored eighteenth century surrounding wall, that serves the entire community in Leixlip and contains the final resting place of many significant figures in the history of the Leixlip district.  An 800 space columbarium has recently been constructed in the basement of the chancel.

A full site covering the history, architecture, decor and 'personalities' of St. Mary's is currently being developed as part of the History @ St. Mary's project.
 
 

Drawing of St. Mary's Declan Kenny 1993

A selection of photographs of St. Mary's is set out below

(Photographs Brendan Twomey 2000)

Photo 1  Front view of St. Mary's
The fifteenth century tower, eighteenth century clock and georgian windows are clearly visible
 
 

Photo 2  Headstone of Samuel Robinson Roe

The (ecumenical) graveyard at St. Mary's contains many intersting headstones.
Samuel Robinson Roe was the maternal grandfather of Samuel Beckett.  The Robinson Roe'
lived at nearby Cooldrinagh House now renamed Beckett's Hotel and Restaurant.

Photo 3  Whyte Memorial Tablet in St. Mary's

Photo 4  View of St. Mary's from the south-east.
 

Photo 5 Window seat -  first floor room in the fifteenth century tower.

Photo 6  View of the east wall of the Chancell of St. Mary's

For further information

Church of Ireland  Parish Centre, Lucan, Co. Dublin,  Ireland.
tel.   + 353 1 624 0976            E Mail    poffice@indigo.ie    web   www.flower-festival.com