All Saints Church, Raheny

All Saints Church is a Church of Ireland Parish Church, prominent on the Howth Road as it approaches the centre of Raheny, Dublin. It lies in walled grounds with mature tree cover, just outside the village core, and is widely hailed as a fine architecural specimen.

History

All Saints was built to replace the historic St. Assam's Church in the centre of Raheny village. The new church was sponsored (to the tune of 9,000 pounds in the 1880's) by Edmund Arthur Guinness, designed by George Ashlin and built almost entirely of Irish materials. The style is described as "early English", and the building has a cruciform shape. The walls are of granite, with limestone dressings, and there is a substantial belfry, with an octagonal spire and a weathervane. [Prior to the construction of All Saints the Guinness family attended the parish church of the Parish of Clontarf where a number of the family members were baptised and subsequently confirmed.]

All Saints was built for the Church of Ireland Parish of Raheny, and became the parish's place of worship in 1889, although it could not take on its full role, or be fully consecrated, until the freehold of the land was acquired, many years later, following the dissolution of the St. Anne's Estate. The parish itself has since entered into a Union with the Parish of Coolock, which has its own historic church, [http://coolock.dublin.anglican.org/ St. John the Evangelist] .

Adjacent to All Saints is the Johnson Hall, for community activities, a modern Rectory, replacing the original Rectory which stood on glebe lands across the Howth Road, and a well-preserved gate lodge, for the verger.

References

ources

* raheny.com (as at 29th May 2007)
* Raheny, Dublin: 1990, Through countless ages: The story of the church and parish of All Saints, and the district of Raheny, Arthur Garrett

External links

* [http://www.raheny.com/ raheny.com]
* [http://www.placeopedia.com/?17157 Raheny on Placeopedia]