St. John's Cathedral () is a Roman

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Designed by the architect

Philip Charles Hardwick Philip Charles Hardwick (London 1822–1892) was an English architect. Life Philip Charles Hardwick was born in Westminster in London, the son of the architect Philip Hardwick (1792–1870) and grandson of architect Thomas Hardwick (junior) ...

, ground was broken in 1857 and the first

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

celebrated on 7 March 1859. It replaced a chapel founded in 1753.

History

Between 1855 and 1861, the English architect Philip Charles Hardwick was commissioned to design the cathedral. At the time he was engaged in some work on

Adare Manor Adare Manor is a manor house located on the banks of the River Maigue in the village of Adare, County Limerick, Ireland, the former seat of the Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl. The present house was built in the early 19th century, though r ...

. On 1 May 1856 the foundation stone was laid, and the building was consecrated in 1859 but remained unfinished until July 1861. The building of the original structure was undertaken by Patrick Kenna, Glentworh Street. Thomas Byrne undertook the later construction of the tower and spire from 1879. Construction of the tower was delayed by storm damage in September 1882. Following interior renovations, on 21 June 1894 the cathedral was consecrated by Cardinal Logue. A large portion of the original pews, memorials, confessionals, and floor tiles survive. The Bishop's throne or

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the 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 ...

was produced in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1894, and has since been removed.

Architecture

Hardwick was influenced by his time under

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

, which can be seen in the

Gothic Revivalist Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century, ...

style of the cathedral. M.A. Hennessy adapted Hardwick's sketches for the tower, which was constructed between 1879 and 1883, with Hennessy adding 105 feet to the original design. The building is faced using local limestone. The tower was believed to be one of the tallest in Ireland when it was completed. The overall architecture has been described as "severe" with minimal external decoration, and small windows. There is just one statue featured on the façade. In comparison, the tower and spire have more decorative adornments. Between 1893 and 1894, the interior was renovated by Bishop Edward Thomas O'Dwyer which included a reordering of the sanctuary inspired by

St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham The Metropolitan Cathedral Church and Basilica of Saint Chad is a Catholic cathedral in Birmingham, England. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and is dedicated to Saint Chad of Mercia. Designed by Augustus Welby Pugin ...

. This work was undertaken by Walter Doolin and Messrs Ryan, Limerick. The interior was again amended to take account changes relating to

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...

. The altar is constructed using Limerick marble and features a carving depicting the sacrifice of Abraham.

Restoration

The most recent restoration work carried out was in 2003/2004 on the roof and exterior stonework. It is a Roman

cathedral, the city's original cathedral, St. Mary's Cathedral, being

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. The building was claimed to have the tallest

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

in Ireland at 94 m (308 ft), but a modern measurement showed it is only 81 m (266 ft), shorter than St. Colman's Cathedral, Cobh.

References

External links

St John's Cathedral
from Limerick Diocese website
Website in memory of the HardwicksSt. John's Cathedral History
From Limerick's Life {{Authority control John's Cathedral, Limerick Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick Religious buildings and structures in County Limerick Buildings and structures in Limerick (city) 1861 establishments in Ireland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1882 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland Limerick, St John's Cathedral Limerick, St John's Cathedral

History

Architecture

Restoration

See also

References

External links