The Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Anne (), also known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, The North Cathedral or The North Chapel, is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

located at the top of Shandon Street in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland. It is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

of the

Bishop of Cork and Ross The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the town of Rosscarbery in Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and again from 1679 to ...

, and the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cork and Ross The Diocese of Cork and Ross ( ga, Deoise Chorcaí agus Rosa) is a Roman Catholic diocese in southern Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly. The cathedral church of the diocese is Cathedral ...

. Its name derived from the fact that it encompassed the ecclesiastical parish of St. Mary and the civil parish of St. Anne.

History

Saint Mary's and St Anne's Cathedral is both the seat of the Bishop of Cork and Ross, and the parish church for the Cathedral parish which includes the areas of Blarney Street, Shandon and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. Baptismal records date back to 1731. The parish boundary had also included the areas of Blackpool and Clogheen/Kerry Pike until 1981. (Both chapels of ease to the cathedral, The Church of the Most Precious Blood, became the parish church of Clogheen/Kerry Pike, while the Church of the Annunciation, became the parish church of Blackpool). The Vincentian Parish of Sunday's Well, also erected in 1981, returned to the Cathedral parish following the closure of St Vincent's Church in 2016. The cathedral was built during the tenure of Bishop

Francis Moylan Francis Moylan (1735–1815) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork, having first served as Bishop of Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe in Kerry. Life He was born on 17 September 1735 in Cork, Ireland, second son of John Moylan, a well-to-do merchan ...

. Construction began in 1799 on the site of a former church built in the 1730s. The cathedral was dedicated on 22 August 1808 by Archbishop Thomas Bray of Cashel. In his sermon, coadjutor bishop Florence McCarthy D.D. spoke of the "necessity of social worship, arguing the point from reason, scripture, and tradition." McCarthy died of typhoid in 1810, contracted while visiting a sick parishioner. The building was extensively damaged by an act of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

in 1820.

George Richard Pain George Richard Pain (1793 – 26 December 1838) was born into a family of English architects. His grandfather was William Pain, his father James Pain and his brother also James. George Richard served as an apprentice architect to John Nash of ...

undertook the restoration of the cathedral, enlarging the sanctuary and creating a Chancel Arch. The cathedral re-opened in 1828. Beginning in January 1965 at the request of Bishop

Cornelius Lucey Cornelius "Con" Lucey (1902–1982) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork and Ross. Youth and education Cornelius Lucey was born 15 July 1902 into a farming family at Windsor, Ovens, County Cork near Cork City. He attended Ballinora Primary School ...

, the cathedral was extended, a sanctuary tower and new sanctuary were added along with a mortuary chapel, basement and sacristy area. The internal layout was stripped, simplified and reorganised following the directives of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. These works were completed by 1968. The architects employed were Boyd Barrett and Associates. The most recent large-scale works were completed at the cathedral between 1994 and 1996. The tower and sanctuary were renovated and refurbished, and the high altar, altar rails and side altars were removed. Confessionals in the nave were also removed to make way for shrines. The roof was re-slated and the gothic ceiling was repaired. External stonework of the cathedral was also repointed. The cathedral closed for the duration of the works while the parish masses took place in the nearby convents. The present altar, ambo and tabernacle are the work of Tom Glendon. The wooden carving of St Joseph the Worker, the shrine of Blessed

Thaddeus McCarthy Thaddeus (Latin ''Thaddaeus'', Ancient Greek Θαδδαῖος ''Thaddaĩos'', from Aramaic תדי ''Ṯaday'') is a male given name. As of the 1990 Census, ''Thaddeus'' was the 611th most popular male name in the United States, while ''Thad'', ...

, and the processional cross are the work of Cork-based artist, Ken Thompson. The abstract stained glass windows in the Blessed Sacrament chapel are the work of James Scanlon. The contemporary artwork collection in the lady chapel is the work of Irish artist, Patrick Pye. The cathedral was re-opened and re-dedicated by Bishop Michael Murphy on 29 September 1996 (shortly before his death in October 1996). The cathedral's bicentenary was celebrated in September 2008. In 2017, a visitor centre was established underneath the sanctuary of the cathedral, with tours of the Cork Folklore Project's exhibition and work.

Architecture

Designed in early Neo-Gothic Revivalist style, the building combines sandstone with limestone dressings. The tower over the main door was added in 1869, designed by John Benson. The original altar was fashioned in wood by Italian craftsmen in Lisbon. In 1821, John Hogan carved twenty-seven statues in wood for the reredos behind the high altar. Hidden away in the 1960s and thought to be lost, these statues were rediscovered in the 1990s and placed in the blind clerestory of the nave. The nine bells of Benson's tower were cast in 1870 by John Murphy of Dublin, and were initially hung for

change-ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

. The bells have since fallen into disrepair and described in some source as 'unringable'. They were restored in December 2022. The modern interior of 1996 was designed by architect Richard Hurley & Associates, and is finished in white limestone.

References

External links

Corkcathedral.ie - Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne homepage
{{Cork City Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic Diocese of Cork and Ross Roman Catholic churches in Cork (city) Tourist attractions in County Cork 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland