Locals and Visitors enjoy Open Day at Dundalk’s Iconic Green Church

As part of the Louth County Council PEACEPLUS Action Plan, an open day was held at St Nicholas Church of Ireland, Dundalk, known locally as ‘The Green Church’, on Saturday 25th April 2026.

This open day marked the first part of a project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). PEACEPLUS is a new cross-border funding programme designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.

The church has been designated funding for renovation under the Louth PEACEPLUS Action Plan to improve access to the building and extend its capabilities to act as a shared community space.

The Open Day allowed visitors from the local community and further afield to explore the rich history and architecture of the church and its grounds at their own pace with refreshments available to all free of charge.

A talk by Dr Kathleen Nallen from Dundalk Institute of Technology’s (DkIT) RiVeR Project on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence was held in St Richards Chapel and was followed by music from the Davide Forti String Trio. The Open Day concluded with a popular talk and guided tour of the church and churchyard by Trevor Patterson from the Select Vestry.

Vestry member Aidan Harte remarked on event:

“Isn’t it just wonderful to see our Green Church and its 800 plus years of heritage and history being enjoyed by all the people of Dundalk and many visitors from Northern Ireland.

While its primary purpose will always be to provide a place of worship, the Louth County Council managed PEACEPLUS programme now allows us to significantly upgrade our facilities to host many cross-community music and cultural events in the years ahead.”

Louth County Council PEACEPLUS representative, Paul McGuill said:

“We are very grateful to St Nicholas Church of Ireland Select Vestry for hosting such a hugely successful open day which has played a very important role in bringing people from many diverse backgrounds together to reinforce cross community understanding and highlight the role of this historic building as a shared space for all communities”.

The Open Day is one of eight planned over the next two years as well as a cross border Musical Diversity Programme and a Robbie Burns Celebration Event. Follow Louth County Council’s social media accounts for updates on future events.