Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf

The Parish of St. John the Baptist, the Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf, Dublin is a religious community located on the north shore of Dublin Bay, bounded by the Parishes of North Strand to the west, Coolock to the north, and Raheny to the east (the latter two are in a Union).

The Parish Church is situated on Seafield Road, approximately 2 ¹⁄₂ miles (4.0 km) from the churches of each of the adjoining parishes. It was built in 1866 to replace an earlier church some 200 metres away on Castle Avenue, on the edge of the grounds of Clontarf Castle.

The first church in Clontarf was reputedly founded by the great Abbot of Bangor, St. Comgall, as part of Christian development through north Dublin, perhaps from a base at St. Mobhi's Church at Glasnevin. St. Comgall became the Patron of Clontarf and remained so until replaced by St. John the Baptist when the Parish came under the control of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in the 14th century.

Clontarf is probably most notable as a central location of the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, when Brian Boroimhe (Boru) defeated the Vikings and reduced their power in Ireland (although they retained control of Dublin city and much surrounding land). The remains of the well supposed to have been used by Brian Boru can still be seen on Castle Avenue, just under 500 meters from the Parish Church. The history of Clontarf itself, however, goes back much further.

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