St Paul's Church, Smithfiled, Dublin (Church of Ireland)
(presently housing the Spade Enterprise Centre)

NOTE: There is another St. Paul's Church nearby on Arran Quay which is also shuttered; however, it is Roman Catholic in denomination.

The land in North King Street on which St. Paul's was established was set aside in 1697. Formerly part of St. Michan's parish, Divine service was celebrated in the old St. Paul's church for the last time on Easter Sunday, 1821. The church re-opened in 1824, rebuilt in the Gothic style according to the plans of William Ferrell.

The attached cemetery was the primary place of interment for the nearby garrison of Dublin and contained a monument to the memory of Lt. Col. Lyde Brown, of the 21st Royal Fusiliers and a mural tablet to three privates of the same regiment, who all were killed in the insurrection of 1803; as well as a mausoleum for the family of Colonel Ormsby.

The earlier church on this site was reputed to be the burial place of Robert Emmet, and where the philosopher George Berkeley was consecrated as Bishop of Cloyne in 1734.

In 1987 the doors of the Church were finally closed for good and it was de-consecrated. Turned to commercial use, it was extensively altered and for many years has been the home of Spade Enterprise Centre.

Most of the graveyard is under tarmac and the remainder, an unused fenced-off area to the south, is under gravel. A further section has been alienated to the south again, where a former school building now houses a community centre.

Church of Ireland records from 1702-1892 at the RCB; burial records are at the Genealogical Office, Manuscript No. 577. The proceedings of the church are recorded in minute books which survive intact back to the year 1698.