placenamesBallybrack
An Baile Breac
Ballybrack’s churches record the growth of a nineteenth-century suburb and its later expansion, while a community trail links them with older monuments.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Baile Breac · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballybrack · English · main form
Place & story
A church shaped by two architects
The Church of Saints Alphonsus and Columba began as a Decorated Gothic design by Patrick Byrne in the 1850s. The Irish Architectural Archive records a later campaign by George Coppinger Ashlin between 1883 and 1888, adding the tower and spire and introducing new internal furnishings. Drawings in its collection document fittings including a holy-water stoup and Lady Altar. The building therefore combines the work of different generations of church architects. [2]
The Church of the Apostles
The Church of the Apostles at Willow Vale opened in 1982 to serve a growing parish community. The parish history associates its construction with Father Frank Mitchell and Monsignor John Deasy, and records renovation in 2017 under Father Alex Conlan. Its development extended parish facilities beyond the older village church. Both churches acquired pastoral meeting spaces, linking their religious functions with the need for places where local groups could gather. [3]
A trail joining different periods
Killiney Bay Community Council launched its heritage trail during Heritage Week in August 2021 with county council support. Its six stops include Ballybrack's dolmen, Michael Davitt memorial and parish church, alongside the Druid's Chair, a Martello tower and Killiney's monastic site. The project joined prehistoric remains, military structures and remembered political lives in a local walking route, giving residents a way to explore the district's history across several periods. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Dublin
- Barony
- Rathdown
- Civil parish
- Killiney
- Within
- Killiney North
- Coordinates
- 53.25141, -6.11198 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 17514 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballybrack. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Church of Saints Alphonsus and Columba: works record53428 · Irish Architectural Archive, Dictionary of Irish Architects
- History of the parish: Church of the Apostles · Ballybrack–Killiney Parish
- Killiney Bay Heritage Trail,23September2021 · Killiney Bay Community Council
- Saints Alphonsus and Columba Church, Ballybrack, County Dublin illustration: based on a Church of St. Alphonsus and Columba, 2024-01-06 by 瑞丽江的河水. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2017-12-01. How this page was prepared.