The parish of St Ann was created in 1707 at a time when the 18th century suburbs were beginning to envelop the site provided for the church by Sir Joshua Dawson, from whom the name of the street is derived. Together with Viscount Molesworth, he was responsible for creating some of Dublin's most fashionable streets. Dawson Street (1709), Grafton Street (1713), Ann Street (1718), and Molesworth Street (c. 1725). The rapidly evolving suburb attracted members of the aristocracy, the gentry, professional classes, and prelates of the Church, including the Anglican Archbishops of Dublin. There were private pews in the church to accommodate distinguished residents like the Duke of Leinster, the Archbishop, and the Lord Mayor. The Huguenots, many of whom lived within, or just over 500 metres outside the parish boundaries, also feature in parish records: names like Hautenville, Angier, Vandeleur, and la Touche. The Huguenot Cemetery is in Merrion Row, some 300 metres from the church.
Although the parish was established in 1707, the building did not commence immediately. It was described as being well advanced in January 1721. The intended grandiose baroque west front never rose above the first floor. This was replaced in 1868 by the present imposing neo-romanesque front, designed by Sir Thomas Deane, the distinguished architect of the museum at Oxford. The Georgian interior was designed by the architect Isaac Wills, who is also credited with the design of St Werburgh's Church (1715).
Wills was closely associated with the work of the great Thomas Burgh, who was engaged in building the magnificent library in Trinity College during the period when St Ann's was being built. The style of the architecture owes much to the new churches built by Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of 1666 in London, with some Irish variations (e.g. the shortened columns supporting the galleries).
St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street, in Dublin, Ireland, was built in the early 18th century following the establishment of the Anglican parish in 1707. In the early 21st century the church presents itself as ecumenical within the tradition of the Church of Ireland.
The building of the physical church in baroque style commenced in 1720, to a design by Isaac Wills. The current façade dates to the 19th century. In 1907, St. Ann's was listed with five other churches as Dublin's only church buildings surviving from the 18th century.
St. Ann's original façade was never completed above the first floor. In 1868, a competition was held for a new façade, with the architectural firm of Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon losing the commission to the Deanes, Thomas Newenham Deane and his father. The younger Deane, who had been involved with the creation of significant buildings at Oxford University, designed a neo-Romanesque front. Described by one travel guide as "amazingly ornate," the façade as it exists in the 21st century lacks some elements of Deane's original conception, most significantly the tallest tower; see the design online as Deane submitted it. From an architectural perspective, this omission has been criticized as disrupting the building's flow from the rectory to the spire.
The Georgian interior was designed by Isaac Wills, influenced by churches built by Christopher Wren but with variations characteristic of Irish architecture. The church underwent a major renovation in 2009.
St. Ann's is noted for its wood carving. The carved reredos, placed within a shallow rounded apse, shares an unusual decorative feature with the reredos of the former St. Mary's in Dublin: Corinthian pilaster capitals with twin acanthus scrolls. The acanthus frieze is carved with winged angels and bishop's mitre; the segmental pediment, with festoons of flowers. The craftsman's name is unrecorded.
A distinctive woodworking and charitable feature of St. Ann's is the Bread Shelf. Since 1723, as a result of a bequest by Lord Newton of Newtown Butler, the church has made daily bread available to anyone who chooses to receive it. The bread is placed near the altar on a shelf between acanthus-carved volutes.
Victorian-era stained glass replaced the original 18th-century clear windows. Some windows commemorate people associated with the church. Three windows in the south aisle are notable for their artistic merit; these were designed by Wilhelmina Geddes of the An Túr Gloine (Tower of Glass) studio for stained-glass artists. One on the north aisle was created by Geddes with Ethel Rhind. St. Ann's is said to contain "more stained glass than any other church in Dublin."
Oscar Wilde was baptized within the current parish, at the former St. Mark's Church; St. Ann's now possesses the relevant records after the two parishes were merged. Dracula author Bram Stoker was married at St. Ann's (1878), as was Irish patriot Wolfe Tone (1785). Anthony St. Leger, founder of the St Leger Stakes horse race, was buried in the churchyard of St. Ann's. The philanthropist Thomas Barnardo as a boy attended St. Ann's Sunday school.
The church contains memorials to the Irish theologian Alexander Knox; English poet Felicia Hemans, who lived on Dawson Street from 1831; Richard Whately, the "eccentric" Anglican Archbishop of Dublin appointed 1831; and art collector and benefactor Hugh Lane, who created major collections of modern art in Dublin. Sir Thomas Vesey is also buried here, as is William Downes, 1st Baron Downes, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. The reredos commemorates thirty-two men killed in World War I, and five in World War II, who were from the parish.
Written sources from 1742 record a subscription drive for the purpose of purchasing an organ for the church. The case of the modern organ, located in the west gallery of the church, is presumed to remain from the original 18th-century instrument. William Telford built the organ in 1834. It has been renovated numerous times. In 1911, the water-powered blower was replaced with an electrical blower, and in 1925 the organ underwent a tubular pneumatic conversion with a new console.