This large church has been in use since 1866, I'm reticent to say completed because the plans for…read morethe church, as written by the commissioned architect, Patrick Byrne, included a towering spire. In 1910, the construction of the spire was abandoned, never to be completed. The exterior is constructed from granite with bath stone dressing. Sculptors, Earley and Powell carved the altar and executed the stencilling on the wooden roof beams inside, which has since, strangely, been painted over. The church cuts an imposing figure on the landscape of the N11 dual-carriage way and, colloquially known simply as Donnybrook Church, acts as a handy local landmark. Mass is held twice a day during the week and five times a day at the weekend starting from 9:30a.m.

Another church, you must think I'm very holy altogether! I'm not really; it's just that I have…read morelived in this area all my life and happen to have been in all the churches! And in these recessionary times there is no harm in saying a few prayers! This is a modern church that was built to cater for the area of Ballinteer which is fairly new in terms of Dublin city. I'm not sure if I really like this one, I mean, it's not a church I'd get married in, it's so big and square and is covered in grey bricks! They try to take the cold look off the walls with some religious hanging pictures but it still has that modern dreary coldness about it! In fairness to it though, it seems to have a large local following and it has a nice local choir. Another plus for this church is the small little glass room at the back, this is specially made for parents who want to bring noisy children, and it's a sound proof room so no one gets interrupted by the screams of a bored kid!

This is the smallest cosiest little church you will ever see, it even has couch like benches to sit…read moreon instead of hard wooden benches you see in normal churches. There is only one mass a week at 11.30 on Sunday morning. It has a really small little congregation who go there regularly. Half the congregation is taken up by monks (they live in the attached monastery)! You might be thinking at this point that you would not feel comfortable going to a mass in such a small church but you are made feel so welcome! Something unique about this church, well unique in my experience anyway is that you communion and wine, most churches you only get communion. A service that is separate from the mass I have just reviewed is the Mass card service. You can go up and buy nice mass cards that are signed by an actual priest, the lady at the counter where you get them goes off with your card and gets a priest to sign it or otherwise he will come down to the counter and sign it in front of you. There is something I don't like about the pre signed Mass cards you buy in shops, they just are not the real thing to me, and so, this is where I always go to get a mass card.

Don't be mystified by the word oratory this is just a church but it's a modern one that doesn't…read morehave a fancy spire or lots of stained glass windows (well it has two but they are only small). It is just a small local church that services the Meadowbrook area, that is an area between Ballinteer and Dundrum. To get there you need to drive through Ludford estate which is just off the old Ballinteer road. There is always alot of nice artwork from the local primary school that you can have a look at but you need to sit in the back section of the church to see this.

In my quest to find a religion with which I felt comfortable this was it…read more Very different to any service which I had attended before. It was quiet and serene in a lovely building among some very nice people. No one preached or gave a sermon. Just sitting quietly - meditating for want of a better word. Every now and again one person would stand up and say something which had meaning for them that they wanted to share. most people sat quietly. The building is known as a meeting house and it is that a meeting house of like minded people on a path. You are encouraged to find your own path. For me it was like being at home. Tea or coffee afterwards.