Dublin No. 1

Baptismal font described by J. Graves in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1866). Noted in The Ecclesiologist (XXVIII, 1867: 128, 129): "The font is of peculiar interest. It is a very uncommon and beautiful specimen of an early font. It was found in the vaults during alterations in 1848, and was unfortunately broken during removal. It has been skilfully put together, and it is in excellent preservation." Described and illustrated in Pike (1989): cushion-capital font; semi-circular boat-shaped sides to the external bowl, and a single stout round pedestal; inside of the bowl was lined with lead untill 1926 when the lining was stolen, according to Pike (ibid.); the decoration is a series of dots in relief ["beaded-tape motif] forming a border to outline the semicircular sides, which contain an inverted fez or fan on each face. Pike (ibid.) cites the church pamphlet that points out to the similarity of this font with the one in use in Llangoedmore (Cardigan, Wales) [cf. Index entry for Llangoedmore]. The Phaidon guide (1983: 193) dates this font to ca. 1192, the date of completion of the church [1190-1192]. The font is indexed in the Archaeological Survey of Ireland under SMR No. DU018-321-- BSI on-site visit notes: The font consists of a cushion-capital basin decorated with palmette motifs; the material has been identified as Dundry stone, a medium grained, very hard, almost crystalline, bioclastic limestone, quarried in the west of England since Roman times; raised on a modern [Victorian?] replacemente base; the exterior of the basin shows considerable damage to its sides; the inner basin has been patched and redone; two of the side panels. at opposited sides of the basin, were altered to install a lock hardware for the cover resulting in damage to the palmette motifs; the lock is not present now; the present font cover is modern, octagonal and flat, made of wood with metal decoratived work on the top.
A set of digital photographs of this font may be seen in Wikipedia [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St._Audoen's_Church_font] [accessed 27 July 2025].
A 3-D model of this font made by Traditional Boats of Ireland may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/12th-century-baptismal-font-f8bbb5ca800f4e2eb6c704d9a99a7e38] [accessed 20 July 2025]; its caption reads: "12th Century (1194) Baptismal Font from St. Audoen’s Church, Dublin, Ireland."