French Church, Waterford

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free for everyone; the ruin is seen from the street outside while OPW keeps the interior closed for maintenance works. No membership card is needed.

ParkingNo car park

Arrive on foot, by bike or by public transport.

Parking details

OPW names no car park; the ruin is in the centre of Waterford city, about 750 m from the bus station and 1.2 km from the railway station. Public car parks close by include the 24-hour Greyfriars car park on Parade Quay, Clyde Wharf and City Square; their tariffs are not stored.

Driving pin: OPW's own pin on the paved square in front of the ruin, at Greyfriars Street and Bailey's New Street. Reginald's Tower, which manages the site, is 87 m away.

About

In Waterford's Viking Triangle, a few steps from Reginald's Tower, stand the ruins of a Franciscan friary founded in 1240 by Sir Hugh Purcell. After it was suppressed in 1540 under Henry VIII, the building became a charitable institution, the Hospital of the Holy Ghost, and in the 1690s part of it was granted to French Huguenot refugees for worship, which is why it is known as the French Church. It fell out of use in the 1880s and has been in state care since the early 1900s. From the street you can see the gable with its tall traceried east window, the battlemented central tower and the nave wall with its tall pointed arches, closed by railings; look out for the carved corbel known as the Rabbit. OPW has closed the interior for maintenance works since late 2024, with no reopening date, so for now the church is seen from Greyfriars Street and the small square beside it.

ClosedPick a day for times and prices

Site Closed No entry to Greyfriars/ French Church due to ongoing maintenance works Opening Times No entry to Greyfriars/ French Church due to ongoing maintenance works

Today, Saturday 24 October

French Church, WaterfordClosed

Opening times may change at short notice.

OPW: no entry to Greyfriars, the French Church, because of ongoing maintenance works; the notice has stood since late 2024 with no reopening date (before that, access was on request through Reginald's Tower). The gable, tower and arcaded nave wall are seen from the square on Greyfriars Street at any time; in May 2026 the tower was covered for renovation.

Uneven surfaces inside the ruin; the square in front is paved. No toilets, cafe or staff on site; enquiries go to Reginald's Tower.

Photo: The ruined French Church in Waterford, its gable window, tower and arcaded nave wall seen from the square on Greyfriars Street. Trizek, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waterford_City_-_French_Church_-_2024-09-26_14-28-49_001.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.