placenamesMonkstown
Baile na Manach
Monkstown’s surviving castle and nineteenth-century church buildings record successive religious and architectural histories.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Baile na Manach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Monkstown · English · main form
Place & story
The monastic castle
Monkstown Castle dates broadly to the fifteenth or sixteenth century and was built for the Cistercian monks of Saint Mary’s Abbey. After the monasteries were dissolved, it passed to Sir John Travers, Master of Ordnance. The Cheevers family later held it, with an interruption during the Cromwellian period when it was granted to Edmund Ludlow. After the Restoration it returned to the Cheevers, who sold it to Archbishop Boyle. A bawn wall connects the castle with its gatehouse. [2]
John Semple’s parish church
The Church of Ireland parish church underwent a major transformation under John Semple between 1829 and 1831. It succeeded a church of 1789, with plans for alterations developing over several years before the old building was demolished in 1828. Edward Carolin and Sons carried out the construction, and worship began on Christmas Day 1831. John McCurdy added a chancel in 1862, another stage in the development of the building. [3]
A changed design for Saint Patrick’s
Saint Patrick’s Catholic church began with a foundation stone laid on 29 June 1861. Canon Bartholomew Sheridan had intended a building resembling Dalkey church, but he died before much progress. His successor, Canon James Cavanagh, commissioned a new design from Edward Welby Pugin and George Coppinger Ashlin. The church opened for services in September 1866, although work was not yet complete. Its construction history therefore involves a change of both pastoral leadership and architectural plan. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Monkstown. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Monkstown Castle · Office of Public Works
- Dublin, Monkstown, Church of Ireland, work 39874 · Irish Architectural Archive, Dictionary of Irish Architects
- History and Construction; Our Church History · Monkstown Parish; historical note assisted by Gerard Hyland, Pugin Society
- Monkstown Church, County Dublin illustration: based on a Monkstown Church exterior north facade (30 May 2022) by Zairon. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2017-12-01. How this page was prepared.