St Audoen's Church, Dublin, Neoclassical Catholic church in Dublin, Ireland
St Audoen's Church is a neoclassical building of black calp stone, designed by Patrick Byrne and completed in 1847 on a steeply sloping site at Cornmarket. A granite portico with Corinthian columns and carved statues was added by George Ashlin in 1898, after the central dome collapsed in 1880 and was replaced by a flat roof. Inside, a coffered barrel-vaulted ceiling is lit by lunette windows, and a double-level crypt sits to the rear.
St Audoen's was built between 1841 and 1847 to a neoclassical design by Patrick Byrne, with the cornerstone laid in July 1841 and Daniel O'Connell among the founding donors. The site had earlier held St Anne's Inns, a college for chaplains of the Guild of St Anne. The central dome collapsed in 1880 and was replaced by a flat roof; George Ashlin added the portico and railings in 1898.
The church houses the National Shrine of St. Anne, whose statue was carved by Deghini's of Fishamble Street and donated by a Mrs. Kelly in 1919. The site previously held St. Anne's Inns, a college for chaplains of the Guild of St. Anne. Today Mass is regularly celebrated in Polish for Dublin's Polish community.
The church sits on a steeply sloping site at Cornmarket, so the entrance is at street level while a double-level crypt extends to the rear. The 1898 portico by George Ashlin, with its granite Corinthian columns and piazza, frames the main doors. The building is best seen from Cook Street, where the black calp walls rise above the line of the old city walls.
The holy water stoups flanking the main doors are giant clam shells, given in 1917 by a Pacific sea captain as a gift to his brother, then the parish priest. The church also holds the National Shrine of St. Anne, whose statue was carved by Deghini's of Fishamble Street and donated by a Mrs. Kelly in 1919.
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