cathedrals historical ireland

The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and Saint Nicholas, dominates Galway's skyline. It is on the site of the old Galway Gaol - featured in Lady Gregory's 'Gaol Gate'.

Dedicated in August 1965 by the late Cardinal Cushing of Boston, USA, the cathedral is built in cut limestone in a combination of classical and traditional design, and has Connemara Marble flooring....

Much of the Cathedral dates from 1633 when Richard Boyle, the Earl of Cork built it. However, the chancel arch and south transept windows go back as far as the 13th century. The church contains a fine tomb of the Mac Grath family dated 1557, and showing the Crucifixion, Ecce Homo, St. Gregory the Great, St. Carthage, St. Katherine of Alexandria, St. Patrick and some Apostles. It is one of the few cases where the figures are named on Irish medieval tombs. Not far from the tomb, and also at th...

St Coleman's Cathedral dominates Cobh Harbour. Built between 1868 and 1949 by Pugin & Ashlin it is a large Gothic Style building. With 42 bells it has the largest carillon in Britain and Ireland.

The catherdral is still used in everyday worship and prayer....

Ardmore is the oldest Christian settlement in Ireland. St. Declan lived in the period 350-450 AD and christianised this area before the coming of St. Patrick. St. Declan's feast day is "Pattern Day" every 24th of July....

On Marlborough Street, you will find St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, the main Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. Built in 1852 it features a high altar by Peter Turnerelli, the famous Irish-Italian artist....

An early Christian monastery was founded here by St. Colman Mac Lenen who died around 600, but all its buildings were burned in 1137. The cathedral of the present Church of Ireland Diocese was started around 1250, but because of much modernisation, comparatively little of this early church can be seen. The chancel has been heavily modernised; the chancel arch was blocked up in 1705 and removed completely in 1775. The east window was inserted in1856. The Cathedral's most famous Bishop was George...

Saint Canices Cathedral is one of Ireland's finest. Completed in 1285, it occupies the site of an earlier church and contains rich carvings, worked in both timber and stone, some dating from the 13th century. It was sacked by Cromwell's army in 1650.
The walls are made of local Kilkenny limestone with pillars of sandstone on the interior. The south transept contains the effigies of the Butler family. It has colourful stained glass too and everywhere the authentic air of a structur...

Ballyporeen in whose cruciform church one Michael Reagan, great grand-father of former Carthage, which became one of the renowned universities of Europe. The Round Tower which is one of the finest in Europe is 97 feet high and 15 feet in diameter at the base, with its doorway set high above the ground for protection against Viking attacks. Also interesting is St. Declan's oratory which is a very small early church. The "Cathedral includes work of various periods and styles from about the te...

The Anglican cathdral on the main street contains a full length martial portrait of this same general, still brandishing his sabre. The cathedral tower, which survives from a seventeenth century church on the site, contains a bell cast from cannon used in the Battle of the Boyne. Colours of the Inniskilling regiments hang in the light and airy late Georgian interior.

Notable features are the seventeenth century font and a stone tablet to William Pokrich ( died 1628) with half the inscrip...

The cathedral dominates the skyline on all approaches to the town and at night, the warm floodlit and graceful spire is a welcoming sight.

When the Cathedral at Raphoe passed to the Church of Irlend after the Reformation, the Catholic Bishop has no permanent seat until the Letterkenny Cathedral was opened and dedicated to Saint Eunan and Columba in 1901.

Designed by William Hague of Dublin and built of white stone from Mountcharles, the graceful lines, flying buttresses and orn...