St Michan's Church - Dublin Church • Go-to-Ireland.com

St Michan’s Church is a church in Dublin, Ireland. A tourist attraction, its origins date back to 1095 (when it was a primitive Nordic chapel), but the church as we know it today dates from 1686. It is especially famous for its crypts, which attract almost 30,000 visitors every year! Period coffins with mummified, dust-covered bodies are on display. One of these burials is believed to belong to a crusader…

Visit St Michan’s Church

A Dublin church, famous for its crypts

A crypt at St Michan’s church – Kodee Shane-Channon – cc

Did you know? St Michan’s Church has Viking origins. Archaeological excavations have revealed that a first religious site was built here around 1095. Although the site was rebuilt under William Robinson in 1686, it is still the only parish church on the north side of the Liffey to have survived a Viking foundation.

We’d prefer to warn you, however, that the exterior isn’t necessarily impressive. St Michan’s church boasts beautiful vaulted ceilings, fine woodwork and a 1724 organ on which Georg Friedrich Handel is said to have composed his Messiah.

Then there are the famous crypts in the basement. Access is via a narrow staircase leading down into a tunnel. At the bottom are 6 separate cavities, all containing mummified burials. (For the record, the crypt walls contain limestone, which helped dry out the air, creating optimal conditions for preserving the bodies).

Among the preserved remains are :

the 400-year-old body of a nun,
a man measuring 1m98 (a crusader who died during the Fourth Crusade)
another body with its feet and right hand cut off,
the bodies of the 2 Sheares brothers – Henry and John – who took part in the 1798 rebellion.
The various holders of the title of Earl of Leitrim were also buried here.

Most coffins are covered with a thick layer of dust. Some bodies are visible, while others are still locked in their coffins. A visit to the crypts is as fascinating as it is disconcerting. You quickly get the impression of entering a sacred place steeped in history. Some will love it, while others may be embarrassed to be there… (like the feeling of not having been invited to this place where time seems suspended).

These crypts were partially damaged by vandals in 1996 and 2019. Since then, measures have been stepped up, and public access has been further regulated. The site has been restored to its former glory, and is well worth a visit.

The church also features the death mask of Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1798), an Irish revolutionary who fought for Irish independence during the Irish Rebellions.