Dun Laoghaire visit
Dun Laoghaire is coastal town in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area that is easily access from Dublin City by the Dart Train Service. For me it was only a short train ride from Landsdowne Dart Station but there is also the option to take the bus (as the Bagatelle song goes!) from Dublin City including the 46A. Fold up bikes can be brought on the train so I brought my Brompton with me, which meant that I could cycle around Dun Laoghaire with ease and see lots of things on this visit.
My trip to Dun Laoghaire was in order to visit the modernist St Michaels Church to see the magnificent architecture and artistic stained glass along with other sculptural artworks in the church.
The original church in this town which dated back a few hundred years was burnt down at some time in the 1960’s with only the spire remaining. The current Church, designed by architects Naish O’Dowd, Sean Rothery and Pierce McKenna, was then built, in 1973, in the place of the old church with the spire still in existence.
Built of concrete, the church is a gloriously uplifting space with light wells that flood illuminated colour through the stained glass in to the inners of the church. Beautifully proportioned it does not dominate surroundings but nestles in to the space and in actuality gives a nod to the old with the original spire being a feature of the town.
It is a building of pure perfection with special details from the lighting which were made of dropped shuttered concrete squares, to the seating to the feature stone altar and baptism font. A building of its time, but also ageless, and will be used by all as long as people have the desire to congregate. The inhabitants of Dun Laoghaire are lucky to have such an awesome church building in their area.
I was in awe of the simplicity of the altar with the statue of Jesus suspended above it. Quite beautiful. And the cleverness of the stained glass windows alluding to a shape of a cross. Subtle symbolism in all its glory.
Deceiving in size, from the outside the building does not give away the generous proportions that are inside that give way to a calm serene space. I am a big fan of this type of design and it truly is a modern wonder of concrete architecture!
Dun Laoghaire Town
And after visiting the church there is lots more to see in the seaside town of Dun Laoghaire. You can wander around the planned to be pedestrianised town and then head down to the Lexicon Library, followed by a stroll on the pier. Or at the other end of the town you can visit the stunning Oratory which was hand painted in totality by one Dominican nun Sr. Concepta Lynch over many years. With all the sight seeing done, it might then be time to go get a bite to eat and for this I would recommend going to Casper & Giumbini’s for tasty food in a buzzy atmosphere - or keep it casual and eat some fish and chips on the pier while looking out to sea.
And afterwards no visit to Dun Laoghaire would be complete without a visit to the institution that is Teddy’s for an ice cream!!