St. Kevin’s Park

The first reference in historical annals to Saint Kevin's Church is in 1226. The church was situated in the Irish section of the city and the parish extended from the mouth of the Dodder to Milltown. In 1584 Archbishop Dermot Hurley was laid to rest in a secret grave within the church, while having been executed for alleged treason. Bishop Rothe wrote in 'Analecta Hibernia' in 1609 that in view of the throngs of pilgrims to the grave and the remarkable occurrences there that the church was rebuilt and a special entrance made. A memorial to the Archbishop is situated at the south-eastern corner of the church.

In 1698 the parish was offered to the French Huguenots as a place of worship and a burial ground. Although the use of the church as a Catholic place of worship ceased under the penal legislation of Elizabeth and James I, the graveyard continued to be used by Catholics until the end of the 19th century. Over the years various reconstructions and additions to the church took place and the vestry was floored, while burials continued in the remaining sections. An archaeological excavation in 1967 uncovered some medieval family graves, coins and tiles from that period.

The church was restored in 1872 and was used as a place of worship until 1912. The church bell was sold for scrap in 1919 and the 18th century font in which the Duke of Wellington had been baptised was given to Taney Parish in Dundrum. In 1962 after long negotiations, the ruins of the church and the graveyard were transferred to Dublin Corporation and were developed as a park. Some of the headstones remain undisturbed and all others have been placed along the outer walls of the church and perimeter walls of the park.