A church has existed in this place, in one form or another, since 1177. The building that stands now was originally built between 1760 and 1769 to the designs of a great architect of the time, John Smyth. The interior is typical of the period; with an oak paneled gallery carried by encased cast-iron columns and boxed pews on the ground floor. The shallow vaulted ceiling has some fine plasterwork but more elaborate decoration was provided around the chancel.
Architects Curdy and Mitchell restored the church in 1877 and during the following decade an interior reordering was undertaken during which the old box pews were replaced with open ones.
The adjoining churchyard to St. Catherine’s was closed for burials in 1894 and the church itself closed in September 1966 due to a decrease in the local population, which was experienced by many inner city parishes in the 1950s. The church was deconsecrated the following year.
St. Catherine’s was then transferred to the Dublin Corporation on the condition that the church was used for cultural and community purposes. Exhibitions and concerts with well-known artists such as Christy Moore and The Chieftains were held. However, after time, interest in using the building declined and deterioration set in.
In 1990 the Dublin Corporation offered the church for sale as part of an inner city development plan. The building was in poor order, its interior ravaged by vandals and its exterior showing signs of water damage and staining.
It took another seven years before work began on returning St. Catherine’s to its former glory. The group responsible for this job was City Outreach for Renewal and Evangelism (CORE). At that time CORE was meeting in St. Werburgh’s Church, where they were operating as a tenant congregation. In 1993, CORE made a commitment to take on the refurbishment of St. Catherine’s, a massive undertaking for a congregation, which, at the time, numbered no more than 80 people.
The total cost of restoration was about £1.75 million and CORE completed the work without having to support any debt. While some of the funds came through the local authority and private donations, the congregation provided about £600,000 of the money needed.
The interior was largely restored between February and November 1998. In place of one of the staircases rising to the gallery off the octagonal entrance hall a kitchen and office space were installed. At the centre of the nave a new baptismal font for total immersion was built. The chancel area was converted into a stage and seating is in the form of stackable chairs. A foyer was created beneath the gallery at the back of the church by installing a glass partition. The site of the former single storey vestry was reconstructed as a three-floor office building. The exterior was cleaned and its clock returned to working order. In early November 1998 St. Catherine’s was reconsecrated and has been the place of worship for CORE since then.