Manresa House is a retreat centre run by the Society of Jesus in the Dollymount area of Clontarf in Dublin, near Saint Anne's Park. In the 19th century it was home to Robert Warren and Arthur Guinness, and it is a protected structure.

History

Origins
Manresa House is a stately home that has had a series of different owners. It was originally known as Granby Hill, and then Baymount Castle and included 17 acres of land surrounding the house. Until 1783, it was a residence of the Bishop of Down and Connor, James Traill. In 1838, it was renovated by Robert Warren. Soon after, it became the property of the Sisters of Loreto who used it as a school. In 1851, it was renovated by the sisters, because the building was damaged by a serious fire that year.

In 1898, they sold it to Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun and moved to Balbriggan.

Use as a Preparatory School
In around 1904 William Scott opened a school on the premises called Baymount Preparatory School, of which he was headmaster until 1936. The school was then acquired by John Tudor Gwynn, who ran it until 1948. John T Gwynn was a descendant of John Gwynn and a member of the Gwynn family that included noted literary figures such as Stephen Gwynn and Edward Gwynn.

Establishment of Spirituality Centre
In 1948, the Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid asked the Jesuits to establish a spirituality centre in the Dollymount area, so they bought Baymount Castle. They renamed it Manresa House after Manresa in Catalonia, Spain, where St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits had many spiritual experiences that contributed to formulation of his Spiritual Exercises.

The Retreat Centre
The first retreat was held there in 1949. In 1966, a new separate house to was built to accommodate more retreatants and was opened in 1967. Commencing june 2022, building and renovation work, at Manresa, including the construction of a new dining and reception area, work is scheduled to be completed by autumn 2023, with on site retreats cancelled for the duration of the work.

Irish Jesuit Novitiate 1969-1991
In 1969, the Irish Jesuits moved their novitiate from Emo Court in County Laois to a building within the grounds of Manresa House. In 1977, part of the property, near the novitiate, was sold to developers to build a housing estate. In 1991, the novitiate moved to another part of Dublin, living in Santry and ministering for two years in Ballymun, before the establishment of the joing British/Irish Novitate in Birmingham. The Novitate for the Irish Jesuit province is now served by The British/Irish Jesuit Novitate, St. Mary's Harborne, Birmingham, which is the Jesuit Novitiate for the Provinces of Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and North Belgium.

Jesuit European Tertianship
Based since 2006 at Manresa House is the english-speaking Jesuit European Tertianship, the third period of formation of a Jesuit, before taking final vows with the order. In 2006, a new building was built on the site of the old novitiate for the Tertianship of the Jesuits in Europe. Commencing 2022, building and renovation work, at Manresa, will see accommodation for those on Tertianship move from the Castle to new accommodation on site, in autumn 2023.

Interior
The centre offers a variety of directed retreats, seminars, and various day and evening events, as well as the 30-day retreat, from the Spiritual Exercises.

In the oval meditation room are a set of windows designed by Evie Hone. They were installed in the 1990s. The windows were originally in the former Jesuit school St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly.

Courses
Manresa House, runs a two year Diploma in Spirituality (Spiritual Direction) accredited by St Patrick's College, Maynooth (Pontifical University)), and has been offered in centres in Galway and Larne. Training in supervision for spiritual directors is also offered, and successful complete the course requirements are awarded an Advanced Diploma in Spirituality (Supervision), a Special Purpose Award from, Maynooth. Manresa House Spiritual Direction training programmes are conducted in association with the Togehter in the Mystery supervisor training programme.

People associated with Manresa House
Joseph Dargan, Laurence Murphy, Paddy Carberry were among those who served as masters of novices in Manresa. The rôle of Rector has been occupied variously by Dónal Mulcahy, Kieran Hanley(1989-1993), Paul Andrews, Joe Dargan and Mike Drennan. The current rector is Willie Reynolds SJ.

See also
 Ignatian Spirituality
 List of Jesuit sites in Ireland

References

External links
 Manresa, Jesuit Centre of Spirituality site

Country houses in Ireland
Buildings and structures in Dublin (city)
Ignatian spirituality
Spiritual retreats