St Michan's Church, Dublin

St Michan’s Church is a Church of Ireland parish church, rebuilt in 1686 under architect William Robinson. Its story reaches back to a Christian chapel established here in 1095, and the present building has served its parish community for more than 300 years. The church is best known for its vaults, where limestone walls keep the air dry and have preserved mummified human remains.

Among those interred were the Sheares brothers, participants in the 1798 rebellion, and a nun whose body was about 400 years old. The famous body called the Crusader was about six and a half feet tall, but a crypt fire in June 2024 destroyed or badly damaged five mummies, including it. Look at the organ gallery: its ornate case dates from 1723 to 1725, while the present instrument was made around 1940. Local tradition holds that Handel practised here before Messiah’s Dublin premiere in 1742.