St. Maelruain's Church, Tallaght
St. Maelruain's Church is a special church in Tallaght, South Dublin, Ireland. It belongs to the Church of Ireland, which is a Christian church in Ireland. This church stands on a very old and important site. It's where the original Tallaght Monastery was built many centuries ago.
The church you see today was built in 1829. It received money from a group called the Board of First Fruits to help with its construction. This new church replaced an even older one. The tall tower you can still see today was part of that earlier church. People described the old church as having a "pointed style of architecture" with decorative tops called pinnacles.
Contents
Discovering St. Maelruain's Church
A Long History of Worship
From Monastery to Parish Church
People have been worshipping God on this spot for over 1,200 years! This long history began in the 8th century. That's when a Celtic saint named Maelruain founded a monastery here. A monastery is a place where monks live, pray, and study.
St. Maelruain's monastery became a very important spiritual center. It was the main home for a group called the Ceilí Dé. This name means "servants of God." They were also known as Culdees. They followed a strict religious life.
Rebuilding and Community Efforts
In 1662, the church needed repairs after a difficult period. During a time of conflict in 1651, a Captain Alland and his soldiers were stationed at the church. He unfortunately damaged the building. He took the roof, timber, slates, and pews to use for his own house. He even used the church's paving stones for his kitchen entrance and fed his horses from the church's font. The churchwardens later received money to help fix the damage.
More recently, in 1985, a project helped young people in the area. The Tallaght Youth Service started a program for unemployed youth. They learned new skills by surveying the graves and graveyard at the church. This "work experience" helped them prepare for jobs. Their findings were published in a booklet the next year. This booklet also shared the history of the wider Tallaght area. In 2021, the information from the gravestones was saved digitally.
Exploring the Church's Special Features
Unique Design and Ancient Tower
The current church was designed by an architect named John Semple. Its roofline, with its unique spikes, looks different from other churches built around the same time. The church is dedicated to St. Máel Ruain, who started the original monastery.
Even though the monastery itself was on a different nearby site, the older tower of the medieval parish church is still standing. Experts from the "National Inventory of Architectural Heritage" say this multi-period site is "of the utmost importance."
The tower is very tall, with four floors. Inside, there's a spiral staircase that takes you up. An outside staircase leads to the first floor. The spiral stairs then continue to the floors above. The third floor has a special arched stone ceiling. Above this is a flat roof and a small turret, which is a little tower.
The Ancient Font and Cross
Near the churchyard gate, on the left, you'll find a special stone called St. Maelruain's Losset. This is a wide, shallow granite stone. It was likely used as a font for baptisms. The word Losat is an Old Irish word. It means a wooden trough that people once used for kneading bread. It's thought that local people named the font this because it looked like the bread troughs they had at home.
South of the font is St. Maelruain's Cross. It's a small, very old cross. It sits on a base that looks like a millstone. In the past, this base and pedestal were known as Moll Rooney's loaf and griddle. The font was called Moll Rooney's Losset.
Stories in the Graveyard
The graveyard around the church holds many old tombstones. Most of them are from the 18th and 19th centuries. Some are even older, from the 17th century. One stone remembers Colonel John Talbot of Belgard. He was an important figure during the time of King James II of England.
Many famous artists are also buried in the newer part of St. Maelruain's graveyard. These include Oisin Kelly, Evie Hone, and Elizabeth Rivers. The South Dublin County Council has even surveyed the graves. They recorded details like where the graves are, their condition, and information from the headstones.
Also buried here was The Most Rev. Dr George Otto Simms. He was an important religious leader, serving as Archbishop of Dublin from 1956 to 1969. Later, he became Archbishop of Armagh from 1969 to 1980. His wife, Mercy Felicia née Gwynn, is also buried with him.
The Old Monastery's Boundary
You can also see the remains of the fosse in the church grounds. A fosse is an ancient curved bank. It once surrounded and protected Maelruain's monastery. The best place to see this old boundary is from the car park behind Smith's Toystore.
