Clondalkin / Cluain Dolcáin

Mentioned in Handcock (1899) as a baptismal font "somewhat like" the font at nearby Tallaght and the one in the old church of the Monastery at Friarstown [cf. Index entry for Friarstown for a description of its font]. The font and two crosses were reported seen in the churchyard of this parish by Austin Cooper on his visit to Clondalkin in 1780 [source:Ken Finlay's web page at http://indigo.ie/~kfinlayball1-6/ball4.11.htm]. Joyce (1920: chapter XXI: [??]) describes, among other remains found in the churchyard of this church, "an old font, rudely fashioned out of a granite boulder" [the 1st ed. of Joyce's work is from 1912, therefore the font may have been seen there about that time]. The Journal of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1914, vol. 44: 273) identifies "a large font of granite" in the ruins of the church that had been destroyed in 1787 by an explosion at a neighbouring powder-mill, but gives no further detail of it. [NB: Handcock does not give a location for this font].
A 3-D model of this font made by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/clondalkin-baptismal-font-du017-041007-84f9b6a347d64abdb9614b8b0a242578] [accessed 26 July 2025]; its caption reads: "Medieval baptismal font of Clondalkin (Cluain Dolcáin/the pasture of Dolcán or Dolcán’s Meadow) parish church (DU017-041002-), Co. Dublin. The granite font stands to the south of St. John’s Anglican Church where it stands close to the boundary wall of the graveyard (DU017-041012-). St. John’s church & graveyard stands on the site of an early Christian monastery founded by St. Mochua or Cronan whose feastday is celebrated on the 6th of August. The impressive round tower belonging to the monastery is visible standing across the road from the graveyard. Large rectangular shaped baptismal font 1.2m x 0.95m x 0.6m with central drainage hole visible [...] For more information, visit: https://maps.archaeology.ie/HistoricEnvironment/?SMRS=DU017-041007-"