St. Augustine and St. John's Church, Dublin

The church is named after St. Augustine and St. John the Baptist, but is known locally as John's Lane Church, from its location at the corner of John's Lane.

The church steeple is the highest in the city, standing at over 200 feet. It wasn't originally designed to hold bells, but a spiral staircase was added later which made this possible. The bells were first rung on St. Patrick's Day 1873. The twelve statues in the niches on the bell tower are the work of James Pearse, father of Patrick Pearse and Willie Pearse.

A monastery under the Rule of St. Augustine was founded on the site by Aelred the Palmer, a Norman living in Dublin, after a safe home-coming from an arduous pilgrimage. The monastery was dedicated to St. John the Baptist and stood just outside the city walls.

In 1316 when Dublin was under attack from Edward Bruce whose intention was to besiege the city, the Dublin citizens by common consent, set fire to Thomas Street to prevent any danger from his approach, but the flames burned St John's Church to the ground, together with all the nearby suburbs.

In 1860 it was decided to build a new church. Construction on the modern church was commenced at Easter 1862 under the leadership of Fr. Martin Crane, and it took 33 years to complete.

The spire, designed by William Hague, and roof were completed in 1874, when the church was opened for mass. The exterior was completed by 1895 and the interior by 1911

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Telephone: 00 353 (0) 1 6770393

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