St. Brigid's Church, Straffan

St. Brigid's Church, Straffan
St. Brigid's Church, Straffan
Teampall Bhríde, Teach Srafáin
	East entrance
	St. Brigid's Church, Straffan St. Brigid's Church, Straffan
	53°18′45″N 6°36′31″W / 53.312573°N 6.608696°W
Location	Straffan, County Kildare
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Catholic
Churchmanship	Roman Rite
Website	https://celstra.ie/
History
Dedication	Brigit of Kildare
Dedicated	1786
Architecture
Functional status	active
Style	vernacular
Groundbreaking	1786
Completed	1788
Specifications
Length	22 m (72 ft)
Width	9 m (30 ft)
Number of floors	1
Floor area	200 m2 (2,200 sq ft)
Materials	limestone, slate, cast iron, stained glass
Bells	1 (in churchyard)
Administration
Archdiocese	Dublin
Deanery	Maynooth
Parish	Celbridge and Straffan

Saint Brigid's Church is an 18th-century Catholic church in Straffan, Ireland.^[1]

Location

St. Brigid's Church is located in the centre of Straffan village, 900 m (½ mile) north of the River Liffey.^[2]

History

St. Brigid's Church bears a foundation stone with the date "1786" and the church was consecrated on 28 August 1788.^[3]^[4]^[5] The gates outside were added c. 1860.^[6] St. Brigid's was renovated in 1913–15, with a Gothic Revival altar in white and red marble added, as well as the stained-glass windows in the west (probably by Joshua Clarke and Sons).^[2]

The church was renovated in 1986 and rededicated by Archbishop of Dublin Kevin McNamara.^[7]

Art and music

The church contains:

Pentecost, a painting by Patrick Pye
St Brigid Feeding the Poor, painting by Evie Hone
an ambo, baptismal font and ambry pillar sculpted by Mark Ryan
Ambry constructed by Jarlath Daly
a Crucifixion triptych by Katsuya^[8]^[9]^[7]

There is also a two-manual pipe organ. Originally built in Derby in 1914, it was moved to Straffan and rebuilt by Stephen Adams in 2019.^[10]

Above the altar is a coved ceiling with acanthus-leaf centrepiece encircled by grape-laden vine tendrils. There are stucco hoodmouldings around the windows with ornamental stops.^[2]

Building

St. Brigid's Church is a three-bay Catholic church on a T-shaped plan.^[11]

Pipe organ
Paintings by Katsuya of Mary, Jesus and John
Altar carvings with grapes, vine leaves, fleur-de-lys, wheat, chalice and Eucharist
Altar

References

^ "Naas to Zouch Mill". 21 July 1868 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tierney, Andrew (2019). The Buildings of Ireland: Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly. Yale University Press. p. 602. ISBN 9780300232042.
^ "Architectural History". Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. 21 July 2018 – via Google Books.
^ Brady, John (21 July 1965). "Catholics and Catholicism in the Eighteenth-century Press". Catholic Record Society of Ireland, St. Patrick's College – via Google Books.
^ "Architectural History". Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. 21 July 2018 – via Google Books.
^ "Saint Brigid's Catholic Church, STRAFFAN, Straffan, KILDARE". Buildings of Ireland.
^ ^a ^b Informational signs in the church.
^ "Religious 1". Katsuya.
^ "Religious 2". Katsuya.
^ "Straffan, Co. Kildare". Stephen Adams Organbuilder.
^ "Search Error: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". www.buildingsofireland.ie.

[1] "Naas to Zouch Mill". 21 July 1868 – via Google Books.

[Tierney-2] Tierney, Andrew (2019). The Buildings of Ireland: Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly. Yale University Press. p. 602. ISBN 9780300232042.

[3] "Architectural History". Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. 21 July 2018 – via Google Books.

[4] Brady, John (21 July 1965). "Catholics and Catholicism in the Eighteenth-century Press". Catholic Record Society of Ireland, St. Patrick's College – via Google Books.

[5] "Architectural History". Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. 21 July 2018 – via Google Books.

[6] "Saint Brigid's Catholic Church, STRAFFAN, Straffan, KILDARE". Buildings of Ireland.

[sign-7] Informational signs in the church.

[8] "Religious 1". Katsuya.

[9] "Religious 2". Katsuya.

[10] "Straffan, Co. Kildare". Stephen Adams Organbuilder.

[11] "Search Error: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". www.buildingsofireland.ie.

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