Manresa House, Dublin
| Manresa House | |
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The house at sunset
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 Manresa House
Location in Ireland
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| Coordinates: 53°22′00″N 6°10′42″W / 53.366805°N 6.178265°W | |
| Location | Dollymount, Clontarf |
| Country | Republic of Ireland |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | Manresa.ie |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Granby Hall Baymount Castle |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Active |
| Functional status | Retreat Centre |
| Heritage designation | Protected Structure |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Fingal South East |
| Archdiocese | Dublin |
| Province | Dublin |
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Manresa House is a retreat centre run by the Society of Jesus next to Saint Anne's Park in the Dollymount area of Clontarf in Dublin. In the 19th century it was home to Robert Warren and Arthur Guinness and is a protected structure in Dublin.
Manresa House is a stately home that has had a series of different owners. It was originally known as Granby Hall, and then Baymount Castle and included 17 acres of land surrounding the house. Until 1783, it was a residence of the Bishop of Down and Connor, James Traill. In 1838, it was renovated by Robert Warren. Soon after, it became the property of the Sisters of Loreto who used it as a school. In 1851, it was renovated by the sisters, because the building was damaged by a serious fire that year.
In 1898, they sold it to Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun and moved to Balbriggan.
In around 1914 William Scott opened a school on the premises called Baymount Preparatory School, of which he was headmaster until 1936. The school was then acquired by John Tudor Gwynn, who ran it until 1948. John T Gwynn was a descendant of John Gwynn and a member of the Gwynn family that included noted literary figures such as Stephen Gwynn and Edward Gwynn.
In 1948, the Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid asked the Jesuits to establish a spirituality centre in the Dollymount area, so they bought Baymount Castle. They renamed it Manresa House after Manresa in Catalonia, Spain, where St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits had many spiritual experiences that contributed to formulation of his Spiritual Exercises.
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Wikipedia