Although the church was initially built around the 12C, the current building dates from 1715 and was remodelled in 1759. After the 1798 rebellion, the British authorities dismantled the spire because it overlooked the castle courtyard. The writer Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was christened here, while Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1763-98), a prominent figure of the 1798 uprising against English domination, is buried in this place steeped in history.