Ballyoughter Church of the Sacred Heart
The Church of the Sacred Heart, Ballyoughter, has stood at the centre of parish life for generations. Its foundation stone was laid on 12 March 1874 by Rev. Henry Williams, Administrator, and the church was dedicated to the Sacred Heart on 11 October 1874. The building was completed in 1876, the year now marked by the 150th anniversary celebrations.
Designed by George Coppinger Ashlin, one of the leading church architects of nineteenth-century Ireland, the church is a striking Gothic-style stone building with a distinctive Italianate campanile above the entrance gable. Built using local stone, it remains one of the most recognisable landmarks in Ballyoughter and a lasting testament to the faith, generosity and commitment of the parishioners who brought it into being.
The church has been renewed and cared for throughout its history. In 1976, during the curacy of Fr. John Nolan, extensive renovations were carried out and the church was rededicated on 19 August of that year. As Ballyoughter marks 150 years since the completion of the Church of the Sacred Heart in 2026, these pages explore its history, architecture, clergy, earlier places of worship, centenary renewal and continuing place at the heart of the community.
Check out further details of this historic building (Reg No: 15701127) on the ‘National Inventory of Architectural Heritage’ website.
North Wexford Historical Society has recorded the headstones in 14 graveyards in North Wexford. Check out the Ballyoughter headstones.
Architect - George Ashlin
George Ashlin was born in Ireland on 28th May 1837 at Little Island, County Cork. He was educated at the College de St Servais, Liege. He then attended St Mary’s College, Oscott, from 1851 to 1855, where he studied drawing and perspective. This led to an interest in Architecture, and he became a pupil of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin from 1856 to 1860, entering the Royal Academy Schools in London in 1858.
Pugin is best remembered for his part in the revival of Gothic architecture in England and was responsible for designing the interior of Westminster Palace and the ‘Big Ben’ clock tower.
Ashlin became a partner to Pugin in 1860 and he took responsibility for work in Ireland, setting up the ‘Pugin and Ashlin’ office at St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin. Their first commissioned work was Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Cork. Ashlin was responsible for the building of up to 50 churches in Ireland, including the Church of the Sacred Heart in Ballyoughter.
Ashlin married Pugin’s daughter, Mary, in 1867 with whom he had one daughter. He split from Pugin in 1870 but continued to work on his own as an Architect while living in Dublin. He served as President of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland from 1902 to 1904. George Ashlin died on the 10th of December 1921, aged 84, and is buried in Glasnevin.
Read more about George Ashlin on the Irish Architectural Archive.