Whitefriars Street Carmelite Church

Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green


Inside this nondescript church (more properly known as the Church of Our Lady of Mt Carmel) are some fascinating relics, not least the relics of St Valentine, donated to the Carmelites by Pope Gregory XVI in 1836. A spiral-bound notebook below the shrine is there so anyone struck (or missed) by Cupid's arrow can express their gratitude or hope.

The Carmelites have been here since 1827, when they re-established their former church that had been seized by Henry VIII in the 16th century. In the northeastern corner is a 16th-century Flemish oak statue of the Virgin and Child, believed to be the only wooden statue in Ireland to have escaped the Reformation unscathed.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green attractions

1. Luke Kelly Statue

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A bronze figure of legendary Dublin folk singer Luke Kelly (1940–84). It was a gift to the city by Irish cartoonist Gerry Hunt (1936–2018), who had…

2. Royal College of Surgeons

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3. Unitarian Church

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4. Chester Beatty Library

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5. Marsh's Library

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6. City Assembly House

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This Georgian townhouse was built between 1766 and 1771 by the Society of Artists as the first purpose-built public exhibition room in the British Isles…

7. St Patrick's Cathedral

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Ireland's largest church and the final resting place of Jonathan Swift, St Patrick's stands on the spot where St Patrick himself reputedly baptised the…

8. Fusiliers' Arch

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The main entrance to St Stephen's Green is beneath Fusiliers’ Arch, at the top of Grafton St. Modelled to look like a smaller version of the Arch of Titus…