reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches

Another of the neo-classical Cathedrals, this time the Cathedral of St. Patrick and St. Phelim in Cavan town. Built to plans by W. H. Byrne of Dublin, it was begun in 1938 and completed in 1942. The tympanum of the portico contains figures of Christ, St. Patrick and St. Phelim by George Smith. The columns in the interior, the pulpit and statutes were supplied by Dinelli of Pietrasanta in Italy. The stations of the cross and the mural of the Resurreection are by George Collie. The High Altar is of green Connemara and red Midleton marble. The altar rails are in white Carrara marble. All of the original fittings and features are still in situ and reordering here has been minimalistic. Some of the glass was provided by the studios of Harry Clarke. In 1994 the Abbey Stained Glass company installed a set of eight stained glass windows made by Harry Clarke originally for the Sacred heart Convent in Leesons Street, Dublin between 1919 and 1934. Thee set depicts ST. Patrick and two princesses; St. Anne and the Blessed Virgin; St. Francis Xavier; St. Charles Borromeo; the Sacred heart and St. MArgaret Mary; St. Michael the Archangel; and the Apparition of Our Lady to St. Bernard. There do not appear to have been Choir Stalls.

The Cathedral of St. Patrick, Skibbereen, Co. Cork, is the Cathedral church of the the diocese of Ross. It was buit between 1825/1826 and 1830 by the Rev. Michael Collins, subsequently Bishop of Cloyne and Ross. The Cathedral was built in a neo-classical style, and while modest in scale, is not without interest. The architect for Skibbereen was Michael Augustine O’Riordan, a remarkable man by any standards. Educated in the neo-classical style, he worked extensively in Cork City and County. Some of his churches include the North Chapel in Cork i.e. the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne (1808), Blackrock Village (1818), Doneraile (1827), Millstreet (1836), Bantry (1837), Kinsale (1838), and Dunmanway (1841). In 1826, at the age of 42, he made profession as a Patrician Brother. Along with continuing building churches, convents and schools throughout Cork, he spent his time teaching in the schools for poor run by the brothers. Skibbereen Cathedral, fortunately, survived the rush to “reordering” and the worst phases of its consequent iconoclasm – partly due the sensitivity arising from the recent status of the diocese of Ross. It was only in very recent time that a fairly minimialist approach to reordering took place which saw the preservation of the High Altar but the loss of a portion of the fine altar rails and their gates in the face of the forward thrust into the nave all too familiar in Irish “reorderings”. The refurbishment and renovation of elements of the Cathedral in Skibbereen are by Wain Moorehead of Cork. The same refurbishment could usefully have removed the amplifiers adhering to the capitals of the columns at the chancel arch. Choir Stalls never appear to have been installed in Skibbereen.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo, has been dubbed by some as Ireland’s least loved Cathedral. It was built in a Germanic Romanesque style, quasi officially, and overwhelmingly, described as “Normano-Romano-Byzantine”. The Cathedral was built by Bishop Lawrence Gilloly to plans drawn up by George Goldie. WIth a seating capacity of 4,000, it has the largest capacity of any Cathedral in Ireland. The foundation stone was laid in 1868. The Cathedral opened for public worship in 1874 and was consecrated in 1897. The glass was supplied by Lobin of Tours. The High Altar is surmounted by a baldachino supported by columns of Aberdeen granite and was designed by Goldie. Benzoni is responsible for the large alabaster statue of Our Lady in the Lady Chapel. The Cathedral has undergone two major reorderings since it was built; one in 1970 which was minimalistic leaving all the main features in situ; and another more recently which saw a grille implanted in Goldie’s Baldachino which has the effect of obscuring the central focus of the building. Several prissy devices have been used to solicit a minimal attention for the new altar which has been placed in the main plain of the sanctuary. The fine altar rails have long disappeared and no Choir Stalls are to be seen.

St. Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford was built to plans drawn by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852). It was one of a series of commissions obtained through the patronage of the Countess of John, sixteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, whose uncle, John Hyacinth Talbot was patron of the re-building of Enniscorthy church. Writing from Alton Towers to Talbot at Ballytrench on 14 May 1843, Pugin presented his plan for the a new church in Enniscorthy which would be build and “perfectly done by degrees …and make a glorious church”. He suggested “pulling down the farthest compartment of the present church and moving the altars….so that the whole of the present nave would serve for the church while this was being done” (Belcher, Collected Letters vol.II, p.52). With the completion of the chancel, and trancepts by 1846 and the nave build over the existing church, the original church was demolished in 1848. A central spire was finished in 1850 but subsequently rebuilt by JJ MCCarthy. While the building of St. Aidan’s opened new opportunities for Pugin, they were not however realised. Writing of Enniscorthy in 1850 he says. “There seems to be little or no appreciation of ecclesiastical architecture amongst the clergy. The cathedral I built at Enniscorthy is completely ruined. The bishop has blocked up the choir, and stuck an altar under the tower!!…it could hardly have been treated worse had it fallen into the hands of the Hottentots….It is quite useless to attempt to build true churches , for the clergy have not the least idea of using them properly. There is no rood screen as intended by Pugin. The High Altar was added by Pearce and Sharp to the designs of JJ McCarthy in 1857. The east window is probably by Hardmans of Bermingham to the designs of Pugin. Later glass is by Lobin of Tours and Mayer. A first modern reordering took place in the 1970s when a large granite altar was place under the corssing. This was replaced in 1996 in a more sensitive restoration of the building which saw a return of the original stenciling work. The 1996 Enniscorthy reordering was important for it signalled a change in reordering that exhibited a greater sensibility ot the integrity of the original contexts into which new elements were introduced. A similar approach would subsequently be taken to the more irretrievable situation of Armagh Cathedral. Several of the original fittings were returned to Enniscorthy and its original ceramic tiles restored but the installation of a victorian tantulus to serve as an ambury was, with hindsight, perhaps a little too iconic and its classical allusion all too poignant. The centrally sited sedilia gives the impression of nothing more than a modern carver. There are no choir stalls. Sheridan Tierney were architects for the 1996 restoration.

Has anybody seen or mentioned Holy Trinity in Cork City

The trip through Irish Cathedrals, courtesy of Praxiteles and co., has been absolutely fascinating. There is no doubt that Cobh (prior to wreckage) stands head and shoulders above the others in terms of architectural excellence and attention to detail. Monaghan leaves one wondering when the diving board is going to be installed. All credit is due to Archbishop Brady for removing the dinosaur tooth in Armagh – he has gone some way towards recuperating the situation. Killarney externally is a beautiful building, reminding one of Salisbury, but alas the Isaurian (Eye-sore-ian?) dynasty, beloved of Praxiteles, has done untold damage within.
Nobody seems to have dealt with Dublin as yet, but I think it is most pertinent to the Cobh situation, as the Great Professor O’Neill is also involved here. How is it that an architect who generally builds railway stations, public offices and the likes, and claims to be inspired by classical models, could have been chosen for a Neo-Gothic building, for which, I gather, he has little sympathy? Poor Turnarelli – his high altar in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral has been atomised, echoing a similar approach to Della Porta’s altar in Thurles.
It is interesting that the Great Professor does not mention either the Pro-Cathedral or Cobh Cathedral among his “achievements”, accomplished or planned, on his website. Why the uncharacteristic reticence? After all, he seems very proud of the refurbishment of Drogheda railway station and the chaplaincy building in UCD with its rather strange spiritual space, suggestive of an encounter between the Buddha and the Goban Saor!

Recently I had occasion to visit the website of the Friends of St Colman’s Cathedral. I would recommend it to the visitors to this thread. The mounting of the planned reordering on their site leaves little to the imagination, although I do wonder how the Archdeacon and the other prebenderies, resplendent in cremosin and rabbit fur, are going to be able to chaunt the canticles and antiphons in stalls which the Great Professor O’Neill proposes to reduce to little more than a set of antiphonal chicken perches hovering precipitously over the abyss. This is another example of the functional knock-on effects of his proposals on the building.
I wonder at the abandonment of the traditional liturgical symbolism of life’s journey from baptism at one entrance, progressing through the other sacraments, culminating in the Eucharist at the altar, to exit via the mortuary chapel. Is it not strange that the planned reordering of Cobh does not take into account the importance of symbol, rightly emphasised by any liturgist with a modicum of Wissenschaft?

@sangallo wrote:

…. the chaplaincy building in UCD with its rather strange spiritual space, suggestive of an encounter between the Buddha and the Goban Saor!

Here are a couple of photos of said building. 😮

@Praxiteles wrote:

Have you one of the “spiritual” space?

This is all I could find – it is called the Contemplation Room. Not sure if that qualifies as ‘spiritual’ space!!!!!

Thanks Gianlorenzo and Sangallo for the pics.

I am illuminated and purified!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!