St Catherine's Church on Meath Street in the Liberties area of Dublin has been damaged by fire, which broke out late in the afternoon on Monday.
Neighbours noticed the fire and called for help.
Several units of Dublin City Fire Brigade arrived and Meath Street was partially closed for several hours until the fire was brought it under control.
The church was open to the public at the time of the fire but nobody was injured.
Parish priest Fr Niall Coghlan said he hoped the church would be repairable.
“The church is still part of a criminal investigation and closed off by the Gardaí. It was extensively damaged inside but our roof is still intact and our walls are still intact but there is a lot of destruction inside,” Fr Coghlan told ciNews.
He explained that this is one of the oldest parishes in Dublin, and there is a strong emotional attachment to the church.
“The parishioners are very supportive and obviously very upset by the whole thing. They have a great love for the church building itself which goes back for generations of people attending funerals, weddings, baptisms, communion and confirmations.”
Rebecca Moynihan, a Labour Party Councillor who lives near the church, told RTÉ Radio news that the fire would be a blow to the local community.
”It is a church that is kind of central to the heart of the Liberties and the social life of the Liberties,” she said.
“Many older members of the community use it every day and every Sunday it is still packed out. It's one of the busiest churches in the city."
Parishioners involved in St Catherine's folk group told RTÉ Radio that the community would get together to help clean up the fire damaged church and get it open again as soon as possible.
“It will be sorted,” she said. “We will build it back up and whatever damage is done will be fixed.”
The parish has four churches and the nearest alternative is a few minutes journey away from St Catherine’s.
On Tuesday, a 48-year-old man, named Patrick Curry, of no fixed abode, was charged with committing arson at St Catherine's Church.
The District Court judge granted a request for an psychiatric assessment and remanded the man in custody at Cloverhill Prison to appear in court again on January 10.