St. Brigid's Church, Straffan

St. Brigid's Church, Straffan
Teampall Bhríde, Teach Srafáin
East entrance
St. Brigid's Church, Straffan Show map of County Kildare St. Brigid's Church, Straffan Show map of Ireland
53°18′45″N6°36′31″W / 53.312573°N 6.608696°W / 53.312573; -6.608696
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]

Sanctuary area

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

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