1 December 2025

Saint Peter’s Church, Phibsboro

While we have nothing medieval in our archives, Saint Peter’s Church in Phibsboro is neo-Gothic, based on the Gothic design common to many medieval churches, which was emulated by many of those built in the nineteenth century.

Saint Peter’s in Phibsboro had been part of the parish of Saint Paul’s when the running of it was handed over to the Irish Vincentians in 1838, 10 years before they officially joined the worldwide Vincentian Congregation as the Irish Province in 1848. Less than twenty years later, an official document by Cardinal Cullen dated dated 2 May 1854, gave them the rights to running the church forever.

There was an original, small, chapel on the site which was opened in 1926, which housed schoolrooms and priests’ living quarters in the same building. Extensions were built in 1843 to the church, with new buildings being constructed for the schools next door. Two years previously in 1841, Daniel O’Connell as Lord Mayor of Dublin, had held a public meeting at Saint Peter’s, on foot of which funds were raised to relocate the schools.

In 1862, Father Thomas McNamara CM, as Provincial, wanted to considerably renovate the church, including installing a tower. It led to a long and drawn-out legal case regarding whether the proposed construction was structurally sound, and the tower was not allowed to be left in place.

The year 1902 finally brought with it a new nave, two aisles and a tower that did not cause issues this time. You can see here the front elevation of the church, drawn up by Ashlin, Architect, dated 11 February 1902, with the proposed changes.