09.07.2021
Virtual Tour of St Doulagh’s Church Launched
“The tour opens St Doulagh’s not just to the local community but globally to wherever the internet extends.”
Community archaeology group, Resurrecting Monuments, working with the Friends of St Doulagh’s have joined with Lensman Photography to produce a cutting–edge virtual tour of St Doulagh’s Church, Balgriffen.
St Doulagh’s church is the oldest stone–roofed church still in use in Ireland. The present church was erected on the site of an earlier church dedicated to the 6th century anchorite St Doulagh. The complex also comprises Ireland’s only surviving standalone octagonal baptistry, built over a holy well.
The purpose of the Matterport 3D Virtual Tour is to provide online access to a self–guided tour of the church building and baptistry. The Matterport 3D technology allows users to examine every aspect of the building via ‘Hotspots’ which allow additional expert detail to be provided on important aspects of the building.
“Fingal County Council is delighted to support the development of a virtual tour of this highly significant site,” said Christine Baker, Fingal Heritage Officer. “It highlights how technology can contribute to the interpretation of important heritage sites and the 3D Virtual Tour of St Doulagh’s provides access to this nationally important site to all sections of our community.”
“St Doulagh’s church is a difficult building to navigate except for the most physically abled visitors,” said Aidan Giblin, Chair of Resurrecting Monuments. “The Virtual Tour will enable much wider access to the general public to this highly significant and interesting building. We hope this will be a portal not just for curious tourists but also be a platform for academics and students to further research the sites history and contribute to our knowledge of our past.”
“This Virtual Access Tour will allow all to see that St Doulagh’s is not just an interesting archaeological monument with a fascinating history but is still an active place of worship as it was intended when founded almost 1500 years ago,” added Ken McAllister of the Friends of St Doulagh’s. ‘‘We’re happy that the tour opens St Doulagh’s not just to the local community but globally to wherever the internet extends.”
Dr Rachel Moss , Associate Professor of History of Art and Architecture from Trinity College Dublin provides the introduction to St Doulagh’s in the tour.
To access the Virtual Tour go to https://www.fingal.ie/digital-heritage-projects or https://resurrectingmonuments.wordpress.com/st-doulaghs-church-3d-virtual-tour/