John Taylor was the first missionary to preach in Ireland in 1840. By 31 July of that year he had baptized the first member, Thomas Tate. Theodore Curtis was sent September 1840 to preach full-time in Ireland from the British Mission. Most of the early missionary work was done in and near Belfast. The Irish Mission was later organized in 1854 after 14 years of growth on the island.

As members immigrated to Utah membership numbers declined on the island. By 1863 there were not enough members to sustain the Dublin Branch, so it closed. Four years later in 1867 the Irish Mission would close and the island placed under the British Mission.