last Viceroy

CHAPEL ROYAL DUBLIN CASTLE

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These heads are but two of one hundred and three Tullamore limestone heads carved by Edward and John Smyth. They are portraits of Brian Boru (the one with the crown) and Saint Patrick.

There has been a chapel at Dublin Castle since at least 1242.

The present chapel was designed by Francis Johnston and was opened, as the Anglican chapel of the Viceroy, on Christmas Day 1814. Although several times smaller than Johnston’s nearby General Post Office, it was as expensive to build. It became known as the Chapel Royal after King George IV attended service on 2 September 1821.

Following Irish independence in 1922, it lay dormant before becoming a Roman Catholic church in 1943. It is now deconsecrated. The galleries and stained glass windows are ornamented with coats of arms representing many of Ireland’s Viceroys. The arms of the last Viceroy, Lord FitzAlan Howard, filled the very last available space in the last available window when they were installed in 1922.

The decoration of the ceiling of the interior was done by George Stapleton (son of Michael Stapleton), a leading stuccodore of the time, while sculptor Edward Smyth (responsible for the “river heads” on the Custom House) and his son John Smyth (responsible for the statues on the GPO) carved the larger figures.

Over the chancel window are three life-size figures representing Faith, Hope and Charity. Over the galleries are heads representing Piety and Devotion. All the interior vaulting and columns are cast in timber and feature a paint wash (faux pierre) to give the effect of stone. It was described as having “the most flamboyant and luxurious Dublin interior of its era.”

The exterior was clad in a thin layer of “fine limestone from Tullamore quarry”, and famously features over 90 carved heads, including those of Brian Boru, St. Patrick, Archbishop Ussher and Jonathan Swift, done by Edward and John Smyth.

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