The Cathedral of the Assumption is 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

Metropolitan Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sever ...

of Cashel and the

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 ...

church of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly The Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly ( ga, Ard-Deoise Chaisil agus Imligh) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in mid-western Ireland and the metropolis ...

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

of the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly and stands on the site of earlier chapels, which were the only

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 ...

churches in Thurles. Following the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

, many archdiocesan assets, including the cathedral at the

Rock of Cashel The Rock of Cashel ( ga, Carraig Phádraig ), also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historic site located at Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland. History According to local legends, the Rock of Cashel originated in the ...

were appropriated by the

established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

. James Butler II (1774–91), on being appointed by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

moved his residence and ''cathedra'' from Cashel, favouring Thurles instead, where his successors continue to reign today.

History

Following the appropriation of church assets by the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

, the majority population who adhered to Roman Catholicism were obliged to conduct their services elsewhere. From the time of the English Reformation onwards, those archbishops appointed by

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

had to make their throne in whichever house in Tipperary would hide them from the forces of the crown. That state of affairs continued until the late 18th century. when some of the harsher provisions of the Penal Laws were relaxed. In 1857. Archbishop

Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

revealed his plan to replace the 'Big Chapel' which had been used as

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in town since, with as Archbishop Bray explained "a cathedral worthy of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly" Work commenced in 1865, and the impressive

Romanesque Revival architecture Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

building, with its façade modelled on that of

Pisa Cathedral Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the th ...

, in Italy, was consecrated by Archbishop

Thomas Croke Thomas William Croke D.D. (28 May 1824 – 22 July 1902) was the second Catholic Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand (1870–74) and later Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in Ireland. He was important in the Irish nationalist movement especially as a C ...

on 21 June 1879. In the

, the historic cathedral on the Rock of Cashel was closed for worship in 1721. A new Georgian cathedral was completed in 1784,

St. Peter the Rock Cathedral, Cashel The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Patrick's Rock is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Cashel, County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Province of Dublin (Church of Ire ...

Architecture

The architect was J.J McCarthy; Barry McMullen was the main builder. J.C. Ashlin was responsible for the enclosing walls, railings and much of the finished work. The building has many architectural features, including an impressive

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

, a baptistery, and its most important possession is a

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome. Biography Giacomo Della Porta was b ...

, a pupil of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

. The tower holds a set of eight bells, cast by John Murphy of Dublin in 1867. Originally intended to be hung for

Change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned 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 which the ringers commit to memor ...

, they are now unringable and chimed by hammers. It is thought that the tower is too weak, and the bells are hung too high in the tower, to deal with the forces associated with full-circle ringing.Core.ac.uk. (2018). nlineAvailable at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145042134.pdf (Page One, Bottom paragraph of middle column until end.) ccessed 18 Aug. 2018

Gallery

References

External links

Archdiocesan Website
{{Roman Catholic Cathedrals in Ireland Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly Romanesque Revival architecture in Ireland Romanesque Revival church buildings Thurles Roman Catholic churches in County Tipperary Roman Catholic churches completed in 1879 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links