Chance to look around "beautiful but fragile" St. John's Church of Ireland, Kill, Co. Kildare
Check out restoration work carried out on Kildare church
St. John's Church of Ireland, Kill, is having an open day on Saturday, August 22 as part of Heritage Week, "Buildings at risk" event.
The roof of St John's was restored in September 2025, with considerable grant funding. The church will open at 12.30pm. There will be a cup of tea and a chance to look around the building.
From 3pm till 4 pm, there will be a talk given by bat ecologist, Dr Tina Aughney, on the bats in St John's.
Stephanie Jones will also outline the roof restoration project.
“Our last open day was in 1992, following the repointing of the steeple. This is a chance to look around our beautiful, but fragile building. Everyone is welcome,” said Roberta Hill, church warden.
Built on an early Christian site with structural phases from the 1820s and mid-19th-century remodeling by architects Welland & Gillespie, this church is well worth a visit. It houses a notable 18th-century chamber organ, historically gifted by the Earl of Mayo from Palmerstown House, which features uniquely reversed keyboard colors.
According to Kill History Group, “ There seems to have been a church here since pre Norman times after which, in the 1200s, it was granted to St Thomas' Abbey in Dublin. The present church dates from the 1820s and contains many interesting features. For example, it still has its original half door and, up until the 1980s, still had not had electricity installed, which made for very atmospheric (ecumenical) carol services every Christmas. It also has a very unusual organ, on which the colours of black and white keys are reversed; it was reputedly a gift from the wife of the local landlord, Lady Mayo, in the 19th century.”