Dating back to 1095, St Michan’s Church is one of the oldest churches in Dublin, and Ireland as a whole. A must visit, it is most famous for what lies in the vaults. As you wander below you will witness dozens of coffins containing mummified remains. The main attraction in St Michan’s is that of the 800-year-old mummy known as “the Crusader”. At six and a half feet The Crusader’s legs had to be broken and folded up in order to fit inside the existing coffin.

Other mummified remains include “The Unknown” (a female that nothing is known about), The Thief (who’s missing parts of both feet and right hand) and the Sheares brothers, Henry and John (who took part in the 1798 rebellion).

Built on the site of an early Norse chapel from 1095, the current structure dates largely from a reconstruction undertaken under William Robinson in 1686, but is still the only parish church on the north side of the Liffey surviving from a Viking foundation.

While the exterior of the church may be unimpressive, the interior boasts some fine woodwork, and an organ (dated 1724) on which Handel is said to have composed his Messiah.

Address: Church Street, Dublin 7.

For further details you can call +353 1 872-4154 or visit http://www.stmichans.com.

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