St Patrick's Cathedral is a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

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 ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, Northern Ireland. It is the seat of the

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 ...

Archbishop of Armagh and Diocese of Armagh. The origins of the site are as a 5th-century Irish stone monastery, said to have been founded by St. Patrick. Throughout the Middle Ages, the cathedral was the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and one of the most important churches in

Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland () was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late Prehistory of Ireland, prehistoric era until the 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Norman invasi ...

. With the 16th-century

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, the cathedral was retained by the Protestant Church of Ireland. Following Catholic emancipation in the 19th century, a new Catholic cathedral was built in Armagh, also called St Patrick's Cathedral.

History

Early history of the site

The cathedral was historically the ecclesiastical capital of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. According to tradition, a church was founded on the site in 445 by Saint Patrick. Evidence suggests that the hilltop was originally a

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

sanctuary. By the 7th century, it had become the most important

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

and

monastic school Monastic schools () were, along with cathedral schools, the most important institutions of higher learning in the Latin West#Use with regard to Christianity, Latin West from the early Middle Ages until the 12th century. Since Cassiodorus's educatio ...

in the north of Ireland,Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. pp.48-50 and monastic settlement grew up around it.

Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

, visited Armagh in 1004, acknowledging it as the head cathedral of Ireland and bestowing it a large sum of gold. Brian was buried at Armagh cathedral after his death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Armagh's claim to the primacy of Ireland was formally acknowledged at the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111. The church itself was partially destroyed and rebuilt 17 times. It was renovated and restored under Dean Eoghan McCawell (1505–1549), having suffered from a devastating fire in 1511 and being in poor shape. Soon after his death the cathedral was described by Lord Chancellor Cusack as "one of the fairest and best churches in Ireland". However, by the end of the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

in 1603, Armagh lay in ruins. The cathedral and its assets were taken over by the state church, the

, as part of the Protestant

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. It has remained in Anglican hands since the reign of Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

of England.

Modern history

Following the Nine Years' War, Armagh came under English control and the town began to be settled by Protestants from Britain, as part of the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...

. During the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

, many Protestant settlers fled to Armagh cathedral for safety. After negotiations with the besieged settlers, Catholic rebels occupied the town until May 1642. The cathedral was substantially rebuilt between 1834 and 1840 by Archbishop Lord John George Beresford and the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham. The fabric remains that of the mediaeval building but much restored. While Cottingham was heavy-handed in his restoration, the researches of T. G. F. Patterson and Janet Myles in the late twentieth century have shown the restoration to have been notably antiquarian for its time. The tracery of the nave windows in particular are careful restorations as is the copy of the font. The capital decoration of the two westernmost pillars of the nave (either side of the West Door internal porch) are mediaeval as are the bulk of the external gargoyle carvings (some resited) of the parapet of the Eastern Arm. Cottingham's intention of retaining the richly cusped West Door with flanking canopied niches was over-ruled. Subsequent restorations have more radically altered the internal proportions of the mediaeval building, proportions which Cottingham had retained. Many other Celtic and mediaeval carvings are to be seen within the cathedral which is also rich in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century sculpture. There are works by Francis Leggatt Chantrey,

Louis-François Roubiliac Louis-François Roubiliac (or Roubilliac, or Roubillac) (31 August 1702 – 11 January 1762) was a French sculpture, sculptor who worked in England. One of the four most prominent sculptors in London working in the rococo style, he was described ...

, John Michael Rysbrack, Carlo Marochetti and others. The Choral Foundation, dating from the Culdees, and refounded as the Royal College of King Charles of Vicars Choral and Organist in the cathedral of Armagh, continues to the present. There are generally a dozen Gentlemen of the Lay Vicars Choral and sixteen boy choristers. The Maundy Money was distributed at the cathedral in 2008: a plaque in the south aisle commemorates this event."Funary Monuments & Memorials in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh" Curl, J.S. p76: Whitstable; Historical Publications; 2013

Notable burials

(–1014),

*Saint Ethnea, baptised by St Patrick, died around 433 A.D.; her Feast Day is 11 January * Marcus Gervais Beresford (1801–1885), Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland (appointed 1862). Cousin of

Lord John Beresford Lord John George de la Poer Beresford (22 November 1773 – 18 July 1862) was an Anglican archbishop and Primate. Background Born at Tyrone House, Dublin, he was the second surviving son of George de La Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Water ...

* Charles Frederick D'Arcy (1859–1938), Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland *

(1773–1862), Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland * John Baptist Crozier and his wife Alice Isabella

Organists

* 1634 Richard Galway * 1661 John Hawkshaw * 1695 Robert Hodge * 1711 William Toole * 1722 Samuel Bettridge * 1752 John Woffington * 1759 Robert Barnes * 1776 Langrishe Doyle * 1782 Richard Langdon * 1794 John Clarke Whitfield * 1797 John Jones * 1816 Frederick Horncastle * 1823 Robert Turle * 1872 Thomas Marks * 1917 G. H. P. Hewson * 1920 Edred Chaundy * 1935 Reginald West * 1951 Frederick Carter * 1966 Christopher Phelps * 1968 Martin White * 2002–2015 Theo Saunders * 2015–present Stephen Timpany

References

External links

Official website

Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
{{Authority control Diocese of Armagh (Church of Ireland) Churches in County Armagh Buildings and structures in Armagh (city)

Grade A listed buildings Culdees Pre-Reformation Roman Catholic cathedrals Burial sites of the O'Brien dynasty Burial sites of the Beresford family