St. Eustace, Dominican Church

The Dominicans came to Newbridge in 1756, and the foundation of Naas was officially transferred to there in 1769 or 1777. Fr John Daly was the first prior of the transferred house, and he wrote, “Fr Hugh Reynolds lived permanently in the Naas district, the others being scattered throughout various parts of the [Irish Dominican] Province…. When some of the more prominent inhabitants of the village of Newbridge, following popular demand, invited him thither, he built a small cabin on the commons, at a place called Cluin in Irish, taking in from the commons, about three acres of land.” The present-day priory, church and college gradually developed from this cabin. On Christmas Day 1819 they opened a church on the present site beside the River Liffey. The present church was built and opened for worship in 1966. Much of the Art work in the church including the Stations of the Cross, the crucifixion group, altar panels and Madonna and Child are the work of the well known Dominican sculptor, Fr. Henry Flanagan, who was a member of the community for most of his life up to the time of his death in 1992. (Other works by Fr. Flanagan include, the Mother and Child outside Scoil Mhuire Snr, and the Statue of the Virgin Mary in Cill Mhuire Church