Kilmainham Congregational Church was built circa 1800 by the Willans family who came from Leeds in Yorkshire, England, and ran the Hibernian Woollen Mills on the Inchicore Road.
They reputedly brought mill workers, who were part of the self-governing Protestant church, with them, and the chapel became their meeting place. It also catered for soldiers from Richmond Barracks and the Artillery Barracks at Islandbridge, and later served a community of largely Welsh railway workers. It was the last Congregational church in Dublin to close, in 2000.
No longer used for worship, the building was sensitively renovated in 2006 to make a comfortable, light-filled 161sq m (1,733sq ft) home, which is strikingly unusual. Kilmainham Congregational Church at 62 Inchicore Road, which is Ber-exempt, is on the market with Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €1.15 million.
It was in good condition when the current owner bought it and he put his own stamp on the interior, which is distinctly Scandinavian. He’d recently moved back from Stockholm, having lived there for eight years. “I really like Scandi design,” he says. “I used similar colours on the walls and for all of the furniture that I shipped over from Sweden.”
READ MORE
The hallway has original patterned pink and red tiles, with doors leading to a study, a bedroom, a utility room and a bathroom. A stairs here leads to double doors that have red and yellow stained-glass insets. They open to a light-filled, open-plan kitchen/dining/sittingroom, which has a high ceiling and elegant floor-to-ceiling arched latticed church windows.
Upstairs, there two double bedrooms, which also have ecclesiastical windows. The main bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe and an en-suite bathroom. There’s also a family bathroom and an attic space with original beams.
The house retains an ecclesiastical character but at the same time feels fresh and modern.
It’s set back from Inchicore Road and sits behind a wrought iron gate on elevated ground. It has a landscaped front garden with a lawn, a patio and mature trees.
Kilmainham is well served for amenities. It’s a 30-minute drive or a 20-minute bus ride from the village to Dublin city centre and is home to Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Memorial Gardens. Phoenix Park is just a 20-minute walk from the house.
Although he loves the house and its location, the owner is planning to relocate to the coast. “It’s been a pleasure, an honour and a joy to live there,” he says. “It’s a beautiful home in a great neighbourhood. I will miss the lovely sense of peace in the house.”
