SAINT ANN'S CHURCH

The parish of St. Ann, one of the oldest in Dublin, was founded in 1707 when this area, developed in the eighteenth century by the developer Joshua Dawson, began to grow. Together with Viscount Molesworth, Dawson created several famous streets in the capital, such as Dawson Street (1709), Grafton Street (1713), Ann Street (1718) and Molesworth Street (1725). The area quickly attracted the aristocracy, the minor nobility and the Anglican archbishops of the Irish capital. In the church, whose interior is in the Georgian style, there were benches reserved for certain people, such as the Duke of Leinster, the Archbishop and the Mayor of Dublin. The facade of the church was then restored in 1868 by Sir Thomas Dean. There are also stained glass windows dating from the mid-19th century.

Several historical figures are associated with this building. Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the famous author of Dracula (1897), married his wife, Florence Balcombe, in this church in 1878. He lived at 7 St. Stephen's Green, just 250 meters from Saint Ann's Church. Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1798) was the father of Irish republican nationalism. Co-founder of the United Irishmen, he was deeply influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution. As a student at Trinity College, he fell in love with a parishioner of St. Ann's, Martha (Matilda Witherington), who lived at 68 Grafton Street. They were also married in that church in July 1785.