This paper will examine the development of Catholic places of worship in Ireland between 1780 and 1800. While the continuing presence of Catholic chapels throughout the second half of the eighteenth century has been explored by scholars in both urban and rural contexts, this paper will focus specifically on the increasing spatial and architectural complexity of places of worship built between 1780 and 1800. In many cases, the buildings constructed during this period have been substantially rebuilt or replaced, and those that are extant have been remodelled. Therefore, written sources and descriptions, together with observation of the surviving fabric, must be combined to understand the impact that they would have made in their contemporary built environment. The paper will focus on four buildings from this period: the 'Great Chapel' at Waterford (the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity Within at Barronstrand, Waterford City); the church of St John the Baptist at Cashel, Co. Tipperary; and the Catholic chapels built by landlords in the villages of Slane and Kells, both in Co. Meath. These buildings will be examined as evidence of a period of experimentation in Catholic architectural practice, informed both by local practices and contexts as well as exemplars in Catholic Europe. The paper will also explore the role of building as a mode of participation in the public sphere, as well as the opportunities that building projects provided for both the performance of status and liberality in Ireland during this period.