G.C. Ashling of Dublin designed O’Connell Memorial Church and in 1888, it was constructed in Cahersiveen, County Kerry using granite and black limestone. The building is one of the few Catholic churches in the world that honours a layman. Its first mass was celebrated in 1900.

Pope Leo XIII approved the building and sent a marble slab from the catacombs to be its cornerstone. The church’s porch also contains interesting historical relics.