St Peter's Church, Phibsborough, Dublin

St Peter's Church, Phibsborough
53°21′38.00″N 6°16′35.00″W / 53.3605556°N 6.2763889°WCoordinates: 53°21′38.00″N 6°16′35.00″W / 53.3605556°N 6.2763889°W
Location	Phibsborough, Dublin
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.stpetersphibsboro.ie
History
Founded	c. 1826
Dedication	St. Peter
Architecture
Architect(s)	Mr. G. C. Ashlin, F.R.I.B.A.
Style	Gothic revival
Completed	Changed and augmented over time. Current church (with tower) stands since 1907.
Specifications
Length	200 ft (61 m)
Spire height	200 ft (61 m)
Materials	Limestone
Administration
Parish	Cabra/ Cabra West/ Phibsborough
Diocese	Archdiocese of Dublin. http://www.dublindiocese.ie/
Clergy
Archbishop	Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
Priest(s)	Fr Paschal Scallon, CM Fr Eamon Devlin, CM

Saint Peter's Church, Phibsborough is a large Roman Catholic parish church in the Dublin suburb of Phibsborough or Phibsboro (informal). It is considered to be a monument of triumph over proselytisers and is viewed upon by parishioners with pride.

History

A view of the nave.

In the early 19th century, Phibsborough was a crime-ridden suburb home to many families living in poverty. Proselytisers were roaming the streets discouraging Catholicism and converting people to Anglicanism. Eventually, the concern for the children of Phibsborough materialised and a Catholic school was built in 1826. Two of the priests who were then running the school, Rev. W. Young and Rev. W. Carroll, converted the top floor of the school into a chapel. In 1843, new schools were built to house the growing number of students. The second floor of the old school building was removed and the chapels length was augmented, leaving it 123 feet (37 m) long and 35 feet (11 m) high. It then became known as a church. Over time, more and more additions, augmentations and improvements were made to the church. In 1907, work on the spire commenced after Cardinal Moran of Australia commented on the lack of Catholic church spires in the Dublin skyline.

You could hardly be called a Dubliner if you hadn't heard of St. Peter's Church, Phibsborough. Standing proudly on Dublin's Northside, each stone of this noble landmark bears the story of hundreds of Irish people of many generations who dared to dream a dream.^[1]

Decorative

St. Peter's is noted for its beautiful stained glass windows, particularly the west window and Harry Clarke's early masterpiece entitled 'The Adoration of the Sacred Heart'. The window depicts the Sacred Heart, Mary Magdalene and St. John the Evangelist. The window was installed in 1919.

St. Peters is richly decorated with Gothic embellishments, such as gargoyles, pinnacles, bosses and columns made from Newry granite. The principal entrance is in the front, which consists of double doors, deeply and richly recessed with Newry granite columns and moulded jambs, while the tympanum is elaborately carved, and has a statue of St. Peter in the centre, the whole surmounted with a crocketted gable and paneling.^[2]

Organ

The pipe organ, dating from 1910, is originally a Magahy instrument.^[3] The instrument was majorly rebuilt and refurbished between 1947 and 1949 by the Conacher organ company. At this time it was a very highly regarded instrument, so highly regarded in fact the in 1952, the world famous French organist Jeanne Demessieux gave a recital here. Over time, pipes have gone missing from the organ. It is now in a state of disrepair, with many features not functioning. Henry Willis & Son have given a preliminary assessment of the organ to estimate the cost of refurbishment.

Specification Of The St. Peter's Organ

The console of the St. Peter's organ in the west gallery. Note the unusual stop tabs.

Pedal	Great	Swell	Choir	Couplers
32' Harmonic Bass	16' Double Diapson	16' Lieblich Bourdon	16' Contra Viola	Ch/Gt
16' Open Diapason	8' Open Dia. No.1	8' Small Open Dia.	8' Open Diapason	Sw/Gt
16' Violone	8' Open Dia. No.2	8' Stop'd Diapson	8' Viol D'Orchestre	Sw Sub-Octave/Gt
16' Sub bass	8' Open Dia. No.3	8' Echo Gamba	8' Gedackt	Sw Octave/Gt
16' Lieblich Bourdon	8' Harmonic Flute	8' Dulciana Celeste	4' Viola	Sw/Ped
8' Open Diapson	8' Hohl Flute	4' Principal	4' Harmonic Flute	Gt/Ped
8' Principal	4' Principal	4' Wald Flute	2' Violin	Ch/Ped
8' Cello	4' Octave	2' Fifteenth	2' Harmonic Piccolo	Sw/Ch
8' Bass Flute	4' Concert Flute	Mixture III	1^1⁄3' Larigot
4' Principal	2^2⁄3' Twelfth	8' Oboe	Mixture III
4' Flute	2' Fifteenth	Tremulant	Mixture II
16' Bombarde	Mixture III	8' Harmonic Trumpet	8' Cromorne
8' Trompette	16' Trompette	Octave	Tremulant
4' Clairon	8' Trompette	Sub Octave	16' Trompette
	4' Trompette		8' Trompette
			4' Trompette
			Choir Octave
			Choir Sub Octave

Gallery

• 

  School and Chapel architecture in 1837

• 

  A view of the nave taken from one of the transepts

• 

  The centre aisle, looking towards the altar

• 

  The decorative crossing in the Nave

• 

  The organ as seen from the Sanctuary

• 

  The pedal board of the St. Peter's Organ

• 

  The Adoration of the Sacred Heart by Harry Clarke

• 

  The elaborately carved tympanum above the main entrance

• 

  A capital in the Nave

Notes

1. A History Of Cabra And Phibsborough, Bernard Neary
2. The 'Irish Builder' of February the 12th, 1903
3. Dictionary of Organs and Organists

External links

• Church website