Thomas Francis McNamara, RIAI,

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, (1867–1947) was an Irish

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 ...

ecclesiastical architect active throughout the late-nineteenth- to the mid-twentieth-century

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 ...

who designed many hospitals and

churches. He was a pupil and later managing assistant of William Hague Jr., partner of the architectural firms Hague and McNamara and, later, T. F. McNamara. He was father of architects N.P. McNamara and Charles G. McNamara, who were partners in his firm from the 1920s, the latter absorbed his practice into his own. At the office of William Hague, an architect who designed many Roman Catholic churches generally in the

French Gothic style French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathedra ...

, McNamara rose from being a pupil to managing assistant. Hague died 1899, the year Omagh’s Sacred Heart was dedicated and consequently it was "a culmination of ague'samazing catalogue of completed ecclesiastical designs and his continuous championship of the Gothic Revival style," according to Richard Oram in ''Expressions of Faith-Ulster’s Church Heritage''. Following his death, his partner

T. F. McNamara Thomas Francis McNamara, Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, RIAI, RIBA, (1867–1947) was an Irish Roman Catholic ecclesiastical architect active throughout the late-nineteenth- to the mid-twentieth-century Ireland who designed many h ...

took over most of his commissions.Gerry Convery. "Poetry in Stone: Sacred Heart Church." (

Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...

: Drumragh RC Parish, 1999), p.8. Thereafter, Hague "formed a business partnership with Hague's widow, practising as Hague & McNamara until about 1907" when he practised under his own name, the firm of T. F. McNamara, which ventured more into Hispano-Romanesque architecture. His office was located at Dawson Street, Dublin until 1911 and at number 50,Gerry Convery. ''Poetry in Stone: Sacred Heart Church.'' (Omagh: Drumragh RC Parish, 1999), p.57 and number 5 from 1927 until his death; working at 192 Great Brunswick Street, Dublin from 1911 to 1927. In 1912, he was appointed architect to the Dublin Joint Hospital Board.

Works

* Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Omagh (1892-1899), designed in the French Gothic style and built by the Colhoun Brothers of Derry at the contract price of £46,000.

Alistair Rowan Alistair John Rowan an Irish architectural historian,professor and author of British, Irish and European architectural history.Official Website he Royal Institution of Great Britain http://www.rigb.org/contentControl?action=displayContent&id=00 ...

. ''North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.''

Buildings of Ireland Series The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

. (Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979.), p.488 Simon Walker. ''Historic Ulster Churches.'' (

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

: Queens University at Belfast, 2000), p.182. *County Hospital at Mullingar, begun in 1933. *

St Eunan's College St Eunan's College ( ; ga, Coláiste Adhamhnáin), known locally as The College to distinguish it from the cathedral and GAA club, is a voluntary Roman Catholic all-male secondary day school (and former boarding school) in County Donegal, Ire ...

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

. * Crooksling Sanatorium, Brittas,

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

References

1867 births 1947 deaths Architects of Roman Catholic churches Irish architects Irish ecclesiastical architects People associated with St Eunan's College People from County Dublin {{Ireland-architect-stub