cathedrals historical ireland

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....

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...

A Roman Catholic cathedral consecrated in 1874 by Cardinal Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin. The magnificent stained glass windows were installed by Loblin of Tours, France....

This building was erected in 1831, two years after Catholic Emancipation, to the design of Dominic Madden of Galway in the then fashionable neo-Gothic style. The reredos or screen backing the altar shows paintings of the Ascension and SS. Peter and Paul, to whom the church is dedicated. The church is sited close to the Old Ground Hotel....

Clogher controlled the only major route between eastern and western Ulster, and its pivotal position in the Clogher valley led some 2,000 years ago to the creation there of a hill-fort on a small hillock close to the modern Bishop's Palace. Excavations proved its significance when imports of pottery and metal work from southern England of c.100 B.C. -A.D. 100 were discovered on the site, demonstrating its extensive trade contacts. In the early years of Christianity in Ireland, Clogher had beco...

Saint Brendan, the Navigator chose Ardfert to be the site of his monastery. Today you will find three medieval churches, an ogham stone and a number of early Christian grave slabs in the site. This is a fine example of an Irish medieval church.
Dating back to the 12th century examine the cathedrals west doorway which is Romanesque in design. Developments to the cathedral were continuous which can be seen with its magnificent 13th century east window and a spectacular row of nine lancets...

The Cathedral was erected in 1831 two years after Catholic Emancipation. It was designed in a neo-Gothic style by Dominic Madden of Galway. In 1843 the church was placed under the patronage of St. Peter and St. Paul. In 1973 the sanctuary of the church was subject to major renovations. At the end of that same year, Bishop Michael Harty was the celbrant at the formal reopening ceremony....

Archbishop Crolly died during the famine and work on the building was stopped. It began again in 1854 under a new dynamic Bishop, Dr Dixon who appointed another architect, JJ McCarthy to succeed Mr. Duff.

He changed Duff's plan to a purer Gothic Style giving us the lofty twin spires of today's building. Work on the building had again virtually stopped until Dr McGettigan was appointed to Armagh in 1870. He set about the completion of the cathedral and it was dedicated on August 24 1873,...

The anglican cathedral of St Patrick has a medieval core, and was restored in 1765 by Archbishop Robinson. However, its present sandstone exterior is later. The cathdral was brand new when Thackeray visited it in 1842 and admired the eighteenth century monuments inside. These include a stature of Sir Thomas Molyneux by Roubiliac, one of Dean Drelncourt by the Flemish sculptor Rysbrack, and a bust of Archbishop Robinson by Nollekens.

Notice a fine kneeling figure of Primate William Stuart...

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...