James Pain in Isleworth in Middlesex around 1779, the eldest of at least five sons. He served as an apprentice to the architect
John Nash of London. Pain came to Ireland around 1811 to supervise the construction of
Lough Cutra Castle in Galway for Nash. He would remain in Ireland the rest of his life. The Pain brothers were commissioned by the
Board of First Fruits to design churches and
glebe houses in Ireland. In 1833, Pain became one of the four principal architects of the
Board of Ecclesiastical Commissioners. He settled in
Limerick, Ireland. Many of his designs were produced in collaboration with his brother, who practised in
Cork. Pain's remains were interred in the Vereker Family Vault, in the grounds of Saint Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, as recorded in the Cathedral burial register. His niece, Sally, had married Henry Vereker of Limerick, to whom he bequeathed a number of items relating to him and her father, George. ==Buildings==