Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Ireland
Monkstown Meeting
The Meeting House is on the corner of Carrickbrennan and Pakenham Roads in Monkstown village, between Blackrock and Dun Laoghaire.
Meeting for Worship takes place every Sunday at 10.30 am
Junior Meeting has an age range of 3 to 12 and joins in the Meeting for Worship at 10.30am for 15 minutes. It then moves to its own room until 11.30. Normal attendance is 35 to 40.
Nearby is Temple Hill Burial Ground.
Historical note: A Meeting was settled in Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) in 1830 and building of the present Meeting House began in 1832. Opening of the railway - in whose development Thomas Pim and other Quakers played a major part - led to an increase in the numbers of Friends living in the district. The building was soon found to be too small and the first of many extensions was added in 1837. The present ceiling was inserted after a serious fire in 1880 and further substantial changes were made in 1968, including the removal of a balcony and a rather ornate elders' bench. In 1998 the small and uncomfortable caretaker's cottage was replaced with a new house.
Monkstown Meeting is part of Dublin Monthly Meeting.
Monkstown Friends Library
The Meeting maintains a Library for the use of its members and regular attenders, and this is currently undergoing development. We have completed the catalogue in a revised version, and have made this available via the web-site, as a pilot project.