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Visit the 10th century St. Begnet's
Church & Graveyard
Experience the peace & tranquility of this sacred place.
Feel the pathos of Famine times in Ireland from the many
burials.
St Begnet is the patron saint of Dalkey. St Begnet's
Church & Graveyard is the oldest part of modern Dalkey,
dating back to the tenth century. There is a strong possibility
that there was a wooden church on the site in the 9th century.
The nave of the Church has early features such as
antae, a stoop, ambry and one original window opening. The
chancel was a later addition and there is a fine example
of a chancel arch. The belfry had space for two bells which
were hand struck. St Begnet’s was a Catholic Parish
Church up to the beginning of the 1600s. It then served the
Church of Ireland community until it was reported in ruins
in the mid 1600s.
"The remains comprise a nave and a chancel and include
a primitive window, doorway and stoop. The most remarkable
feature of the ruins is the belfry on the western end and a
flight of steps (no longer in existence) by which it is approached.
It has openings for two bells …they were sounded by
being struck and not by being tolled" Antiquarian Notes
on Dalkey, Lucan and Leixlip 1896 W.F. Wakeman |
