The Church
St. Josephs built in 1887 by Canon Dillon of Wicklow to serve the dual purpose of School and Church.
Walls constructed of local materials - stone available immediately and brick from the nearby works.
It is hidden away and can be found by the visitor coming from the Dublin direction turning right off the Wicklow Road immediately after the roundabout, taking the road leading between a shop on the left and the B.V.M. grotto on the right then taking the first two right turns - an interary that is brief but complex to the newcomer!
The Church was refurbished in 2000 under the careful management of Michael O`Sullivan a native of Rathnew, and the generosity of the local people and some sponsorship from local business people as a project for the celebration of the Jubilee. All the windows now have stained glass.
Cemeteries
The large cemetery in present use and serving a wide hinterland was opened in 1905. It runs alongside the road to Wicklow Road and opposite Tinakilly House. The old Cemetery is inland from the latter with headstones dating back to the Sixteen Hundreds. The Cemetery is claimed to contain the remains of the Monastic Church of St. Ernan, a saint going back to St. Patrick’s time.
Annual Corpus Christi Procession
Rathnew has one of oldest and longest running Corpus Christi Processions in the Diocese. It is held on the feast of Corpus Christ in June each year and invites everyone to participate.
The Village is cleaned for weeks before hand and is bedecked with bunting flags and banners by the Procession Committee under the chairmanship of Anthony Doyle. Two altars are erected_ one in the boys school and one in the Grotto for the benedictions.
The children who have received their First Holy Communion and Confirmation that year have a special place in the procession_ the army, pipe band, the scouts, sporting clubs, children of Mary, Legion of Mary, people of Rathnew and visitors make up the procession.
The choir_ under the leadership of Eibhlin Kinsella and organist Anne Morris_ and the prayers led by Fr. Edward Barry, Ashford Parish, is piped over the village for all to hear and participate.
