Re: Re: reordering and destruction of irish cathedrals – St Colmans Cathedral, Cobh

If I recall correctly, the town of Athlone is divided between the dioceses of Elphin on the western bank of the Shannon; and Ardagh and Clonmacnoise on the eastern bank. The cathedral for the former is in Sligo and that of the latter in Longford.

Concerning the Cathedral churches of the Church of Ireland, in general, these are the pre-reformation Cathedrals whose replacement after Catholic emancipation in 1829 gave rise to the spate of building of Catholic Cathedrals. However, as you mention in the case of Dublin, not all of the original Cathedral buildings retained their original outlines for a variety of resons (war, abandonment, refurbishing, the rise of the neo-classical and of the neo-gothic, changes of diocesan boundaries) but survivors might be seen in St. Canice’s in Kilkenny, St. Mary’s in Limerick or St. Flannan’s in Killaloe. Perhaps the worst victim was the Cathedral on the rock of Cashel which had its roof stripped off in the 18th century when a small replacement in the classical style was built in the town of Cashel. In stark contrast to the Catholic Cathedrals of Ireland, these buildings (at least since the 16th century) have not been subjected to the kind of liturgical vandalism that has seen the ruination of all of the neo-Gothic Catholic Cathedrals,except one (Cobh), the only neo-Romanesque in the country (Thurles) and two of the finest of the neo-classical ones (Dublin and Longford).

I hope to post some more statistics on the subject shortly.