The present church in Donabate was opened in 1903 by the then parish priest Fr William Magill who was appointed in 1900.This church was dedicated by Archbishop Walsh in August 1903. It cost over £8000 and the site was given by John Smyth of Bridge House Pub. It was built from Portmarnock Brick with cut stone dressing. Many of the workmen who built St Ita's (completed in 1902), helped with the building of the church. Prior to this church the present parish hall was the parish church.


The parish hall was built as a church in 1803 by Fr Luke Teeling, who served as Parish Priest for nearly thirty years. It was built on a site donated by the Barnewell family. Prior to this there was a thatched roofed chapel, about one hundren yards westward from where the Railway Station now stands. It was built in 1754. The Donabate/Portrane Peninsula has a rich heritage of churches and monastic settlements. See St Catherines.

In 1986, a very detailed history of the Donabate, Portrane and Balheary was compiled by William O Brien, Paddy Murphy and Neil Dempsey and produced by the late Pierce Reilly. It contains an excellent history of all the churches in the area.

For a full list of the names of priests who served in Donabate and Portrane from 1240- see the names of priests' page.

The altar at St Patrick's Church tells the story of St Patrick. Have a look now at this fine piece of craft work. Go See the Altar
See Also the Stain Glass Rose Window Animation And the Harry Clarke Window
or view them as individual photos in the Angel Photo Gallery.

Today Donabate is an area is developing very fast. In the last number of years, almost 2200 extra houses have been built and about three hundred apartments and more houses are planned. It is becoming popular to live here... with the sea and country side close by...a railway station which can bring you to Dublin City centre in thirty minutes. No doubt it will be a big town in a few years time.