Mount Argus was the official home of Saint Charles of Mount Argus who was a well known Passionist priest in 19th-century Ireland, mentioned as a miracle worker in the book Ulysses, Circe chapter. It also has long-established links with the Garda Síochána and it was officially the church of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. The first Rector of Mount Argus was Fr. Paul Mary Pakenham who was the son of the Earl of Longford and nephew of Kitty Pakenham (Duchess of Wellington). His first mass took place in a house at the time on 15 August 1856. Irish architect J.J. McCarthy was commissioned to design the new monastery.