Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners Church, Roman Catholic church in Rathmines, Ireland.
Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners Church is a Roman Catholic church in Rathmines, Dublin, built in 1854 in the Greek style. Patrick Byrne designed it and William Henry Byrne later added the portico and pediment. Its dome, raised higher during the rebuilding after the 1920 fire, is known as Rathmines' blue dome.
Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners was built in 1854 in the Greek style to Patrick Byrne's design; William Henry Byrne later added the portico and pediment. On 26 January 1920 a fire destroyed the interior, roof and dome. The church was rebuilt and reopened by 1922, with the dome made higher than before.
The church is known locally as "Rathmines' blue dome", the name James Joyce gives it in Ulysses. In Sally Rooney's 2021 novel Beautiful World, Where Are You, two characters attend Mass here. The building is a Roman Catholic parish church in Rathmines, Dublin.
The church stands on Rathmines Road Lower, just south of the Grand Canal and a short walk from Rathmines Bridge. The main entrance is through the portico added by William Henry Byrne, facing the street. The dome, raised during the 1920s rebuilding, is best seen from the far side of the road.
In Ulysses the church appears as "Rathmines' blue dome". Two characters in Sally Rooney's 2021 novel Beautiful World, Where Are You attend Mass here.
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