Hollywood Great Church

Hollywood (Sancto Bosco) parish church ruins dedicated to St Canice stand in a walled graveyard (DU004-023002-) at the base of a steep S facing slope, with extensive views S to the Dublin mountains. In 1615, the Royal Visitation of Dublin recorded that in the Deanery of Garristown, there was the vicarage of Hollywood with the chapel of Grallagh that was served by the curate Terence Ivers and the vicar, Edward Corbet, the church was valued at 20 marks (Ronan 1941, 23). According to Ronan (ibid.); 'Sacrum Boscum [Holy Wood] was probably anciently associated with pagan worship and then christianized by a cill which was dedicated to St. Canice and afterwards supplanted by an imposing structure with triple-arched bell turret. In early Anglo-Norman times it was granted to the priory of Lanthony. The family of Hollywood were lords of the manor in 1230, and John de Hollywood, born here, became a famous philosopher and mathematician, writer, and professor in Paris (c.1230). The church had a Fraternity or Gild attached to it. The chapel of Grallagh (greallach, a miry place), dedicated to St. Mac Cullin, was likewise granted to Llanthony'. In 1630, Archbishop Bulkeley’s Visitation of Dublin, recorded that in Hollywood, Grallagh and Naul; 'The churches and chauncells are ruinous. The tythes are impropriat, worth .... per annum, held by the Right Honourable the Lord Vicecomte Moore. There are not above eight persons that frequent divine service in that parish. Mr. John Hyde, Mr. of Arte and preacher, is vicar of Hollywood and curate of the rest, beinge worth sixteene pownds per annum' (Ronan 1941, 69). The 1654-56 Civil Survey of Dublin recorded that on the lands of Hollywood belonging to Nicholas Hollywood of Artane, an Irish Papist there stood; 'ye walles of ye parish Church' (Simington 1945, 35-6).

The remains comprise a rectangular nave (int. dims. 19.7m x Wth 5.4m) with the foundations of a chancel. The latter is visible only as an artificially raised area E of the nave (L 8.2m) and aligned E-W. The nave is built of coursed limestone masonry with dressed quoins. There are traces of a blocked-up chancel arch. W gable stands to full height with triple bell-cote. Opposing doorways of nave have pointed heads with double draw bar holes. There are two featureless windows in S wall. There is a 15th-century holy water stoup E of the S doorway which has been re-set in cement. The church has been extensively ribbon pointed.

Hollywood (Sancto Bosco / Holy Wood) Church was described in 1887 as follows; 'In a sudden deep hollow on The S.W slope of the high land, stand the walls of the church. The chancel is a complete ruin; the foundations remain; they are 30 feet [9m] long by 20 [6m] wide, but the walls of the nave are fairly perfect. The church lies due E. and W. The nave is 61 feet [18.6m] long by 23 [7m] wide. The W gable, which is very lofty, is surmounted by a perfect triple-arched bell-turret. Some broken steps ascend from the N wall to the belfry; arches on the E side. There was a large circular chancel arch, and the S door has a lancet arch. On the E side of the S door a stoup is inserted in the wall. Taken as a whole, the ruin is imposing. The original church was probably built before the English invasion. Church and chancel were in ruins A.D. 1630, but must have been rebuilt, for a silver paten, now used at Naul church, has inscribed on it "Holy Wood, 1754". (Walsh 1888, 244-5).