Our Lady of Dublin, Medieval Madonna statue in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, Ireland
Our Lady of Dublin is a life-size oak statue of the Madonna and Child in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, Dublin, representing the Black Madonna of Ireland. Its style resembles early 16th-century wooden statuary, and it probably dates from that period. Since 1915 the restored figure has stood in a purpose-built shrine near the high altar.
Local legend, weakly supported by documents, links the statue to St. Mary's Abbey on Mary Street, dissolved in 1539 under the Henrician reforms. The first concrete record is a 1749 survey of Dublin's Catholic chapels, which lists a statue in St. Mary's Lane Parochial Chapel; that chapel was demolished in 1816 for a new school. The Carmelite Father John Spratt found the statue in 1824, and since 1915 it has stood in a purpose-built shrine near the high altar of Whitefriar Street Church.
The statue is known as the Black Madonna of Ireland, and its feast day is celebrated on 8 September. Devotion centres on the shrine near the high altar, where the figure has stood since 1915. The dark oak carving, life-size and in the style of early 16th-century wooden statuary, is the focus of that September observance.
The statue stands in a purpose-built shrine near the high altar of Whitefriar Street Church, a short walk from St Stephen's Green in central Dublin. The church is an active parish, so services and quiet prayer take priority over sightseeing; the shrine is reached on foot within the building and entry is free.
Local legend, weakly supported by documents, links the statue to St. Mary's Abbey on Mary Street, dissolved in 1539 under Henry VIII's reforms. The first firm record is a 1749 survey of Dublin's Catholic chapels placing it in St. Mary's Lane Parochial Chapel, demolished in 1816 for a school. Carmelite Father John Spratt found it again in 1824.
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