CHURCH  OF 

IRELAND

ST. JAMES CHURCH, DINGLE

Sunday Service 12 Noon

St. James Church, Dingle, is part of the Tralee and Dingle Group of Parishes.  The most westerly town in Europe, Dingle hosts a fishing fleet and a modern marina.  The present church standing in the centre of the town, was built in 1808 and is dedicated to St. James.  In common with other churches within the Group it occupies the site of a medieval predecessor.

The medieval church is said to have been built by the Spaniards and it was originally a very large structure.  The dedication to St. James probably refers to St. James of Compostela in Spain, thus emphasising Dingle's strong links with the Iberian Peninsula.  When the Reformation reached Dingle in the 16^th century, the church passed into Protestant hands.

As the centuries progressed the medieval church fell into disrepair.  However part of it, St. Mary's Chapel, was preserved until the later church was built on the same site.  The present church, also dedicated to St. James, is basically an 1808 restoration of the original  medieval church, and it is located in its own grounds in Main Street, in the heart of Dingle.  The building was financed by a gift of £1,100 from the Board of First Fruits, which was established in 1711 by Queen Anne of Great Britain, and its purpose was to build and improve the churches and glebe houses in Ireland.

By 1837, the building had to be enlarged and repaired and a grant of £317 was donated for the purpose by the Ecclesiastical Board.  Further restoration work took place during 1970s.  During the 19^th Century the town's principal residence was Burnham House, the property of Lord Ventry, and at that time Lord Ventry maintained a chaplain who was resident in the town, and who assisted in the performance of clerical duties in the church.

In 2004 substantial repairs and renovation was necessary due to significant damp ingress through external stonework and the poor condition of the  windows.   With the help of generous grants from Kerry County Council, The Heritage Council, RCB, Irish Georgian Society, Dept. of Environment  and Personal donations, enabled the church to be restored and to retain its attractive original features.

Architectural description:

Built in the Georgian Gothic Revival Style, the church's side elevations are five bays wide and the southwest gable includes a square-plan tower whose former spire was taken down in 1974.  A single-by, double-height transept was also added in 1840.  All walls are of rubble stone, some rendered, and there are projecting eaves.  The church also boasts lancet windows with framed lattice glazing as well as an elaborate chancel window with timber tracery.

St. James' Church has regular Sunday services but it is also used as part of the many local festivals – such as the Storm Festival, the International Film Festival, Feile na Bealtaine, a lecture venue, as well as hosting regular summer concerts.  It has become famous as the venue for the renowned Other Voices concerts.

It is a joy to be able to share this amazing sacred place with so many visitors and performers.  Having sensed the ambience of this lovely building for yourself, you will have touched the sacred that is deeply embedded in this place and in the people.

St. James the Greater

James and his brother John were called by Jesus to be his disciples.  They were the sons of Zebedee and Salome and were known as 'Sons of Thunder' because of their impetuous nature.  James was probably older than John and was called 'the great' or 'the greater' to distinguish him from the other apostle, James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, who was most likely younger or smaller in stature.

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, James is thought to have preached in Iberia as well as in the Holy Land.  In 44 AD he was the first of the apostles to die for his faith, when he was beheaded in Judea by Herod Agrippa.  Some believe that his disciples carried his body by sea to Padrón on the Galician coast.  They then buried his body under what is now the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.  His relics were discovered sometime between 791 AD and 842AD and  Santiago de Compostela then became a place of pilrimage.  Pope Leo XIII asserted that the relics of St. James at Compostela were authentic in a papal bull which was published on 1^st November, 1884.

The Scallop Shell

There are two versions of the legend surrounding the use of the scallop shell as symbolic of St. James.  One legend claims that after James' death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago.  Off the coast of Spain a heavy storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean.  After some time, however, the body washed ashore undamaged and covered in scallops.

The second legend recounts that after James' death, his body was mysteriously transported by a ship with no crew back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago.  As the ship approached land, a wedding was taking place on the shore.  The young bridegroom was on horseback and, on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked and the horse and rider plunged into the sea.  Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive and covered in scallop shells.