Ashbourne Parish’s main facilities are found in the centre of Ashbourne town. There are four buildings and car parking belonging to St. Finian’s Diocesan Trust. The main building and the one that is most important is the Church of the Immaculate Conception. The other buildings are the Parish Pastoral Centre, Old National School and the Parochial House. The Church and the Parish Pastoral Centre are protected structures and are of architectural, artistic, social and historical merit. Ashbourne Parish strives to ensure these buildings are maintained and managed to a high standard. The purpose of all parish property is to support the mission of our parish and the faith communities they serve.
Church of the Immaculate Conception
Our Church is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God under the dogma of her Immaculate Conception. Ashbourne Church is open every day from 9am to 8pm. The first church was where the Parish Pastoral Centre is now. An 1835 government commissioned report on towns and villages states that a church was built in Ashbourne in 1834. It was built as the second church of the catholic parish of Ratoath. A detached gable – fronted church was built in 1882 to replace the original which was turned into a school. This church served the parish well for 100 years but with the expansion of the catholic congregation in Ashbourne an extension was added to this church in 1982, and Ashbourne became a parish on its own joined with Donaghmore. The two windows that were on the front gable of the church in Ashbourne were moved into the body of the church to increase visibility and balance the new altar location with a window each side. The windows are of two female saints of the church, St. Dympna and St. Mary Magdalene. The original altar was relocated to the centre of the church and moved into its current position so that it is a focal point for worshippers in the old and new part of the church. As part of the extension six modern stained-glass windows were crafted by Irish artist George Walsh. Walsh’s art reflects his style of linking the sacred with the secular. Blue is the predominant colour of these windows to reflect the church’s dedication to our Lady.
Church of St. Patrick
Donaghmore Church is located on the Swords Road, just 2km outside of Ashbourne and serves a small rural church community. Church records from 1788 note that a chapel had been built in Donaghmore on a larger scale to the one that had been there. Fifty years later this is described as ‘an ancient edifice situated in an old burial ground’. By 1840 Donaghmore Church was relocated outside of the cemetery thanks to the recorded efforts of Fr. Gough, parishioners and friends of Curraha. The name Donaghmore comes from the Irish ‘Domhnach Mór’, meaning ‘great church’. This place name is found all over Ireland and is traditionally associated with St. Patrick’s mission in the fifth century. With the hill of Slane nearby it is appropriate that the church in our parish bears the name of the National saint.
In 1995 substantial renovation work was carried out. The architect was Michael Lysaght, and the engineer was Paul McGarry. George Glynn of The Wotton was the site supervisor.
In 2023 substantial repair work was carried out on the roof of the sacristy area adjacent to the Old Cemetery.
Old National School
Three of the present schools in Ashbourne passed through this building. It was opened in 1953 and called St. Mary’s National School. When it ceased as a National School it became the Parish Office and hosted the After School Program of classes for Catholic children in multidenominational primary schools. The building has been used for storage for several years and is now in a poor state of decay.
Ashbourne Church Carpark
Ashbourne Church Carpark is open daily from 9am and closes with the church at 8pm. It allows people to park freely when coming to the church to pray and worship. A person parks in the church grounds at their own risk and the parish takes no responsibility for theft or damage to any vehicle. The carpark is for church use, is marked and in total there are 98 parking spaces, 3 of which are for wheelchair users. There is one point of entrance and exit to this carpark area.
Parochial House
This house was built in 1982 at the same time that the extension was added to Ashbourne Church. Ashbourne’s second parish priest was the first to live here. In 2023 a substantial renovation and reconfiguration of the house took place. Our current parish priest lives here next to Ashbourne Church.
Curate’s Residence
The curates of our parish reside in No. 54 Brookville. This semi dethatched house was bought by the parish in 1995 and has housed various priests of the parish since then.
Parish Centre
Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 9am to 12:30pm
Friday: Closed
The Parish Centre located on Frederick Street, adjacent to the Church, was the site of the first church building in Ashbourne. This building was replaced with a national school in 1889. It then became a Parochial or Parish Hall. Significant works were carried out in the late 1980’s to ensure the character and essence of the building was preserved. Both the faith and wider community invested substantially in the renovation of the building in 2005 and transformed its composition into three modern rooms.
Video: Parish Hall Construction and Official Opening
Parish Cemeteries
Ashbourne Cemetery
Donaghmore Cemetery
Non-Parish Cemeteries
The following cemeteries are not under the jurisdiction of Ashbourne Parish and are instead managed by Meath County Council and other non-parish organisations. Ashbourne Parish provides religious services and oversees any necessary rituals for burials.
St. Declan’s Cemetery
Killegland Cemetery
Greenogue Cemetery
Old Donaghmore Cemetery
