St Audoen's Church, Dublin

St Audoen's Church is a Church of Ireland parish church, and it remains in use as a parish church today. The building was erected in 1190, making its origins reach into Dublin's medieval past. It is dedicated to Saint Ouen of Rouen, whose name came here with the Anglo-Normans after their arrival in Dublin.

Look towards the church porch, where the Lucky Stone is kept. This Celtic gravestone has been associated with the area since before 1309. Local tradition gives it a curious career: traders rubbed it for good fortune, and after it was stolen, it repeatedly returned to the neighbourhood.

Its disappearance in 1826 lasted twenty years before it was found outside the Catholic church in High Street. The porch also holds the tomb monuments of Sir Roland Fitz-Eustace and Margaret, his wife. Fitz-Eustace served as Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Lord Chancellor and Lord High Treasurer of Ireland.

His refusal to surrender that final office brought him into conflict with the king and nearly caused civil war. The chapel beside the nave once belonged to Saint Anne's Guild and has since been restored as a reception centre with an exhibition on the church's history. St Audoen's remains Dublin's oldest parish church, carrying its long story in the surviving tower, porch and memorials.