The Church of St. Patrick, also named St. Patrick's Pro-Cathedral, is a large Roman Catholic church located in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, County Louth,

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 ...

. Dedicated to Saint Patrick known as the "Apostle of Ireland". He is the primary patron saint of Ireland. It is built in the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style, and was designed by the architect

Thomas Duff Thomas John Duff (1792–1848) was an Irish architect from Newry, County Down. Duff was the principal architect of a number of Roman Catholic churches and cathedrals in the northeast of Ireland. His work included three churches dedicated to St ...

. The parish website is https://www.stpatricksdundalk.com/ Possible to follow the masses celebrated at St Patrick's Parish live from the website https://www.churchservices.tv/dundalkstpatrick

History

There has been a Catholic church named Saint Patrick's in the town since 1750. The first building was on a site donated by the first Earl of Clanbrassil on Chapel Street and in 1843, was converted into a school. The then-Parish priest, Fr. Matthew McCann, acquired the current site in 1834. The church was opened for worship in 1842 but was not complete for many years after. Work stopped during the Great Famine and resumed in 1860. It was designed by the

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry ...

architect

, who modelled the interior on Exeter Cathedral, and the exterior on

King's College Chapel King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan ...

. Duff died before completion and the architect J. J. McCarthy was chosen to finish the magnificent interior. The bell tower is a later addition, being added in 1903. On 3 February 1867, Michael Kieran was consecrated as Archbishop of Armagh in St. Patrick's Church and chose during his tenure from 1867 to 1869 St. Patrick's in Dundalk as his mensal parish. The completion of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh was left to his successor, Daniel McGettigan.

Architecture and furnishings

It is 9 bays in length and has two side aisles to the north and south of the building. The church contains a wealth of distinctive features, including fine granite pillars, tiled floors, a vaulted ceiling and many colourful stained glass windows by acclaimed designers Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich, among others. McCarthy designed the high altar and ornamental screens covering the eastern wall while

George Ashlin George Coppinger Ashlin (28 May 1837 – 10 December 1921) was an Irish architect, particularly noted for his work on churches and cathedrals, and who became President of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. Biography Ashlin was ...

designed the intricate Italian mosaic walls in the chancel. The sculptor Thomas Farrell fashioned the side altars. The organ was "opened" on 1 July 1900 at 1.00pm. Mr H.L. Balfour, organist at the Royal Albert Hall, gave a recital of classical music. The solemn opening and dedication of the organ took place in early 1901 with Cardinal Logue presiding. The campanile & tower was erected in 1903. The tower was the gift of Mrs. Julia Hamill of Seat own in memory of her late husband John Hamill. The mosaic sanctuary walls have been done by Ludwig Openheimer & Co. of Old Trafford, Manchester. This work was begun in 1909. https://www.stpatricksdundalk.com/sermons

References

Roman Catholic churches in County Louth Buildings and structures in Dundalk {{Ireland-church-stub