St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Roman Catholic)
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St. Patrick's Cathedral in
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 Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh,
Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...
. It was built in various phases between 1840 and 1904 to serve as the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
cathedral of the Archdiocese of Armagh, the original medieval Cathedral of St. Patrick having been appropriated by the state church called the
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 ...
at the time of the Irish Reformation. The Cathedral stands on a hill, as does its Anglican counterpart.


Background

The building of a Catholic cathedral at Armagh was a task imbued with great historic and political symbolism. Armagh was the Primatial seat of Ireland and its ancient ecclesiastical capital. Yet, since the Irish Reformation under
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
, no Catholic Archbishop had resided there. Since the seventeenth century, the majority Catholic population of Ireland had lived under the rigours of the
Penal Laws Penal law refers to criminal law. It may also refer to: * Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism * Penal laws (Ireland) In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...
, a series of enactments which were designed, in the words of the Anglo-Irish historian Lecky, "to deprive Catholics of all civil life; to reduce them to a condition of extreme, brutal ignorance; and, to disassociate them from the soil". As a result, whilst to some extent tolerated, the public practice of
Catholicism 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 ...
was almost completely extinguished and all Churches existent at the time of the enactment of the laws were ceded to the Established Church. Thus, by the end of the eighteenth century, there were few Catholic churches and no cathedrals in existence in Ireland for a large Catholic population. Following Catholic emancipation in 1829, the need to construct churches and cathedrals to serve this population became apparent. The lack of a Catholic presence in the Primatial City of Armagh in particular became a popular cause of discontent among the emerging Catholic
episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
, clergy and congregation.


The cathedral of Primate Crolly

Archbishop William Crolly was appointed to the Catholic See of Armagh in 1835 and almost immediately sought permission to reside in Armagh; the first Catholic Primate to do so since the Reformation. Having settled in the town, he then set about seeking a site for a new Catholic cathedral. The main difficulty in constructing a Catholic cathedral at Armagh was that the land of Armagh City and suburbs consisted almost entirely of "see-land", the mensal estate or demesne of the Protestant
Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
and thus would not be available for the Catholic episcopacy to purchase. A site at the apex of Sandy Hill on the outskirts of the town had however been sold to the
Earl of Dartrey Earl of Dartrey, of Dartrey in the County of Monaghan, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in July 1866 for the 3rd Baron Cremorne. Thomas Dawson, Burgess of Armagh, came from Yorkshire to Ireland during the reign ...
. A building committee was established and a weekly penny collection taken in for the construction project. The architect was to be Thomas Duff of
Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...
who had designed the Cathedral there and also the
Pro-Cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...
at
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
. He designed a cruciform building, with
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
,
aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
s,
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
s,
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
, and
choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
; a large square central tower, and two smaller ones on the west front flanking the great doorway, and flush with the aisle walls, resembling
York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...
. As at Dundalk, the style was a highly romanticised version of the Perpendicular Gothic of the sixteenth century. The foundation stone was laid on St Patrick's Day 1838 but as a result of the
Irish Famine The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger ( ), the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a historical social crisis and had a major impact ...
, work ground to a halt in 1847 with the foundations and aisles only partially complete.


The cathedral of Primates Dixon and McGettigan

Archbishop Crolly was himself a victim of the famine, contracting
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
whilst tending to famine ravaged
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
and dying on
Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
1849, and was buried in the unfinished cathedral. His successor, Archbishop Paul Cullen abandoned the project and moved the Primatial See to
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
. It was only when Cullen was translated to Dublin and Archbishop Joseph Dixon was appointed to the See of Armagh that work recommenced in 1854. By this time, Duff was dead and there had been a revolution in ecclesiastical architectural taste in Ireland. Following visits to Ireland by A. W. N. Pugin, the
Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...
style of the sixteenth century had fallen from favour and earlier
Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
Gothic had become more popular. The architect
James Joseph McCarthy James Joseph McCarthy was an Irish architect known for his design of ecclesiastical buildings. McCarthy was born in Dublin, Ireland on 6 January 1817. His parents were from County Kerry. He was educated by the Christian Brothers in Richmond St., ...
, a self-styled "pupil" of Pugin, was appointed to oversee the completion of the cathedral. The position as architect to the new cathedral was rather a difficult one for, by the time of McCarthy's appointment, the walls of Duff's Perpendicular building were already high and had reached the top of the aisles. McCarthy did not wish to continue to build in the now unfashionable Perpendicular Gothic of Duff. His solution was to start building a
Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...
Cathedral of the fourteenth century on top of the purportedly sixteenth century foundations and walls. Decorated Gothic
tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...
was inserted into the existing window openings and at the West end, he reduced the size of the traceried window and inserted below it an arcade of apostolic statues. The pitch of Duff's roof was raised a full , adding greatly to the exterior impact of the building, and the aisle roofs were raised accordingly, permitting the insertion of a
triforium A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...
below the
clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...
. A sense of drama was added to the
transepts A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") churches, in particular within the Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architectu ...
by the addition of asymerical spired turrets to their ends and the addition of
rose windows 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'' wa ...
to their gables. The most dramatic change effected to Duff's plans was the abandonment of the three rather squat towers designed by Duff to reach a height of . Instead, two breached towers crowned with spires high were constructed at the West end. Dixon died in 1866 again before the completion of the cathedral and once again the project was abandoned under his elderly successor Archbishop Michael Kieran. It thus fell to Kieran's successor, Archbishop Daniel McGettigan to complete the building. Following the completion of the spires, McGettigan turned his attention to the interior. Here, to capitalise on the increased height gained at the expense of external massing, McCarthy constructed an elaborately carved
vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
hammer-beam roof with carved angels terminating the hammer beams and stone saints as
corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a bearing weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applie ...
. He designed a
Caen stone Caen stone () is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ...
reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
which spans the entire wall of the east end and which is filled with carvings from the
life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the ...
below an arcade of carved and crocketted pinnacles and centered with a carved canopy over a statue of the
Madonna and Child In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...
. Archbishop McGettigan commissioned painted
murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
to adorn the walls of the
Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...
and stencilling was applied to its ceiling. The cathedral was dedicated on 24 August 1873. Following the dedication, Primate McGettigan continued to make improvements as funds and his declining health would allow. In 1875, he commissioned the
Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...
from Herbert & Co. of Liverpool and installed the Great 33-stop pipe organ by William Telford. In 1879, the seven-light east window was filled with stained glass by Earley & Powell of Dublin and work began on the seven terrace flight of steps to the plaza in front of the west end. Finally in 1884, a
sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...
's lodge was constructed at the bottom of the steps. When Archbishop McGettigan died in December 1887 after some years of failing health, the cathedral had seen the passing of five successive Archbishops and the expenditure of the unprecedented sum of over £70,000.


The cathedral of Cardinal Logue

McGettigan's successor as Archbishop was Michael Logue, longest serving Archbishop of Armagh. A famously learned cleric, Logue was appointed to the
College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...
by
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
in 1893, becoming the first Archbishop of Armagh appointed to the college in its history. When he arrived at the completed cathedral at Armagh, Logue was far from impressed. He complained of the "weak and beggerly elements" of interior decoration and stated that "visitors who had approached the Cathedral filled with admiration for the beauty of its exterior, were…disagreeably surprised, not to say disedified, at the comparative shabbiness and poverty of the interior". On 20 August 1899, Cardinal Logue issued a
Pastoral Letter A pastoral letter, often simply called a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circu ...
entitled "The National Cathedral" exhorting the people of Ireland and its
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
to supply sufficient funds to beautify the interior of the cathedral. A fundraising
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
was organised in 1900 and the firm of the architect William Hague of Dublin (who had inherited much of McCarthy's practice on the latter's death) was appointed to make plans. The bazaar raised over £30,000 and Logue travelled to Italy with his architect to visit marble quarries and artisan workshops, choosing materials and craftspeople to carry out Hague's plans. Hague died soon after designing the first of his additions: a marble rood screen, wide and tall. His replacement was George Coppinger Ashlin, former partner of Pugin's son. Upon appointment, Ashlin almost immediately identified a major structural problem with the roofs on McCarthy's aisles and a new groined roof of
Bath Stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...
was constructed. This, combined with repairs on the foundations of the towers which had not been designed to take the weight of McCarthy's spires, used much of the funds raised by the Bazaar. Nevertheless, Cardinal Logue pressed ahead with lavish plans. Ashlin designed a High Altar carved from Carrara marble, Lapis Lazuli and Jasper to sit before Hague's rood screen and the Italian sculptor, Cesare Aureli was commissioned to carve a frontal in ''alto relievo'' of
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
's
Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...
. Ashlin closed the Crossing by constructing two side screens of statuary marble, wide, across the north and south transepts and statuary marble communion railings inlaid with ''Breccia di S Votaleat'' the Nave. The ''
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 ...
'' throne projected in three divisions at the second bay on the North side with canopied niches, having crockets and pinnacles and surmounted by a marble spire. The centre of the throne was carved with the arms of the cardinal in statuary marble. The entire crossing was paved with inlaid marbles, designed in squares with quatrefoil panels and crosses and centred on a ''
pietra dura ''Pietra dura'' (), ''pietre dure'' () or intarsia lapidary ( see below), called ''parchin kari'' or ''parchinkari'' () in the Indian subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to c ...
'' representation of the Cardinal's
armorial bearings A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achie ...
. An elaborate pulpit was constructed at the south west pier of the crossing. Composed of statuary marble inlaid with rare coloured marbles, its plan was octagonal, with angle niches containing statues of the Evangelists, Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid, the canopies above the statues being groined and carved. The panels between the statues were filled with inlaid traceries. The canopy of the pulpit, rising to a height of nearly 36 ft. was carved in Austrian oak painted white and inlaid with coloured enamels and gold leaf. Behind the
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
, McCarthy's
reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
was retained intact but its lower portions were enriched with marble inlays in a diaper pattern with ''
fleur de lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the ( stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis ...
'' in a vibrant variety of coloured Italian marbles. A new Lady Altar and
tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...
was constructed before the reredos from statuary marble. The
antependium An ''antependium'' (from Latin ''ante-'' and ''pendēre'', "to hang before"; : ''antependia''), also known as a pulpit fall, parament or hanging, or, when speaking specifically of the hanging for the altar, an altar frontal (Latin: ''pallium al ...
contained three bas-relief groups, the work of the eminent Roman sculptor Michele Trepisciano (1860–1913) showing "The Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
in the Temple", "The Assumption" and "The Coronation of the Virgin" recessed in separate panels with cusped heads, and columns of ''Breccia di Seravezza antica'' and ''Breccia Corallina'' marbles. The
tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...
, inlaid with Corsican Jasper, was in the form of a cube topped with a roof of fish scale carvings and finished with two large statuary marble standing angels. To the North and South of the Lady Chapel, Side Chapels were erected and dedicated to Saint Joseph (North) and Saint Brigid (South), closing the aisles at the East. In the South
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
, a sumptuous altar was erected to the Sacred Heart. Finally, to the West end, McCarthy's wooden gallery was replaced with a three-bay marble screen of white marble supported on quatrefoil pillars of ''Portasanta'' marble and inlaid with ''Brocatello'' marble. The organ itself was rebuilt to suit the newly enlarged space and a new Austrian oak organ case was designed and built. The most striking and lasting of Cardinal Logue's legacies to the cathedral were, however, the scheme of mosaics he commissioned to adorn every inch of blank wall in the cathedral. Significant thought was given to how best to deal with the decoration of the walls of the building. Archbishop McGettigan had completed a scheme of painted
murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
and stencilling of the walls but, as a result of Armagh's damp climate, these had perished within a few years of completion. It was therefore decided to adopt a mosaic decorative scheme, the initial great cost being defrayed by the future saving on repainting a mural scheme. The material employed was Italian pottery of various colours in dice-shaped cubes with glass cubes for the gilt portions to prevent tarnishing and to give greater lustre. The sections were put together in two workshops in London and were carefully glued, face downwards, on strips of paper. These were then applied to a fresh coating of special cement on the walls in a manner resembling the hanging of wallpaper. To complete his scheme of decoration, Cardinal Logue commissioned the Italian painter, Oreste Amici (1872–1930), who had been trained at the Institute of Fine Arts in Rome, to paint the entirety of McCarthy's hammer beam roof in an Italianate style. The ceilings are painted in oils, the prevailing shade adopted for the ground colour throughout being of a soft terra-cotta to harmonise with the colour of the wall mosaic. With the works complete, the cathedral was solemnly rededicated on 20 July 1904.


Re-ordering: The cathedral of Cardinals Conway and O'Fiaich

William, William Conway (cardinal), Cardinal Conway was appointed to the See of Armagh in 1963 although he had been serving as leading Irish participant in the Second Vatican Council since its inauguration. He returned to
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 ...
as Archbishop keen to institute the reforms suggested by the council. The reforms on liturgy required greater congregational participation in Catholic services and for some time it had been felt that the 1904 marble works at the crossing had impeded large-scale ritual in the cathedral. Conway thus inaugurated an architectural competition to adapt the sanctuary of Armagh Cathedral to the new requirements and to allow greater freedom of movement and visibility around the sanctuary area. Several candidates submitted designs and controversially all of them suggested the removal of substantially all Ashlin's marble works at the crossing. Conway chose the winning design by Liam McCormick (1916–1996), though work did not commence on the reorganisation of the crossing until after Cardinal Conway's death in 1977. It thus fell to Tomas, Tomás Ó Fiaich, Cardinal O'Fiaich to complete the works. As completed, they were as radical as they were divisive. The entirety of the marble work at the crossing was removed and much of it destroyed, including Hague's
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
and Ashlin's high altar, cathedra, altar rails and inlaid marble floor. The pulpit was dismantled and broken up and the side altars to Saints Brigid and St Joseph were removed and relocated in other churches. Only McCarthy's Caen Stone reredos survived removal, though its lower portions, enriched in 1904 with Carrara marble, were dismantled and floral tapestries attached to the lower portion of the reredos in their stead. New fittings carved from roughly hewn Wicklow Granite were fitted at the crossing and the sanctuary area was extended beyond the line of the former rood screen and raised by several feet and clad in polished Wicklow granite. Criticism had been made of the 1904 scheme's foreign design and materials as a result of which the reorganisation stressed its native roots. The new altar, ambon (liturgy), ambo and tabernacle were carved by a Dundalk sculptor, Peter McTigue and the tabernacle door was manufactured in Kilkenny. Carpets replacing the former marble floor were woven in Killybegs. To replace the rood cross, a huge sculpture entitled "The Tree of Life" was commissioned from Imogen Stuart, the German-born Irish sculptor. The cathedral was again rededicated on 13 June 1982 when relics of St. Malachy were placed in the new altar. The works were met with almost unopposed shock and outcry. "Neither the quality of the replacements nor the skill of the craftsmanship can disguise the total alienation of the new work from the spirit and meaning that was McCarthy's ecclesiological and architectural inspiration. In this setting, these modern intrusions appear dispassionate and irrelevant" lamented the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS, 1992). Architectural historian Jeanne Sheehy wrote of the re-ordering as "the replacement ... of a fine late Gothic revival chancel with chunks of granite and a tabernacle that looks like a microwave".


Restoration and renewal: The cathedral of Cardinal Brady

Although the decorative style of the cathedral was thus significantly changed in 1982, the building itself had not undergone any major structural works since the replacement of the aisle roofs in 1904. By 2002, the necessity for major structural repairs to the building had become obvious. As a result of the construction methods of the walls and wear to the roof, damp had damaged much of the mosaic and the painted decorations had been dulled with smoke and dust. A great deal of the external stonework had perished and the twin spired towers had become unstable. A Diocesan committee charged with overseeing these major structural works to secure the building decided that the time was also ripe for reviewing the much criticised sanctuary. The firm of Rooney & McConville was commissioned to redesign the sanctuary area. McCormick's vilified fittings were removed in their entirety and the sanctuary area was re-floored with Italian porcelain tiles from Armatile mimicking the inlaid marble floor of 1904 which had survived, largely intact, under McCormick's granite podium. A new altar and ambo of Tunisian limestone were installed. The altar was inspired by early-Irish crosses and has imagery of Christ (Crucified, Risen, Return in Glory), flanked by Apostles, on three sides. The fourth side visible from the main body of the Church shows Our Lord with four Irish saints: St. Patrick, St. Malachy, St. Brigid and St. Oliver Plunkett. Two pairs of brass gates which had survived from the 1899 marble Rood Screen were replicated several times over, welded together, topped with newly-designed Gothic cresting and made into a new fully brass screen behind the high altar, restoring a separate Lady Chapel area as the culmination of an ambulatory around the sanctuary area. The tabernacle was removed to the South transept which was itself screened off with further brass screens and the Cathedra placed on a dais directly behind the new altar. An Evangelarium was created in the South tower (now converted to a shop) and the baptistry was restored at the base of the North tower. The base of McCarthy's reredos was restored and the 1904 inlaid marbles uncovered. By the time of the rededication of the cathedral on 25 May 2003, more than £6,000,000 had been spent.


The cathedral today

The Cathedral parish includes the churches of: St. Patrick' Cathedral, the Church of St Malachy, the Church of St Colmcille at Knockaconey, and the Church of The Immaculate Conception in the Tullysaran District of Armagh. Daily Mass is held Monday to Saturday at 10:00am. On Sunday, Mass is celebrated at 11:00am, 12:30pm & 5:30pm, with a 6:30pm Vigil Mass on Saturday evening. Holy Day Masses are celebrated at 11:00am. Confessions are usually heard before the Saturday evening Vigil Mass.


Burials

* William Crolly *William Cardinal Conway *John Cardinal D'Alton *Cahal Cardinal Daly *Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich *Michael Cardinal Logue


Organ

The cathedral organ was built by William Telford in 1875. In 1987, the organ was rebuilt, enlarged and tonally altered by the Irish Organ Company Ltd. who also provided a new terraced drawknob console. The rebuild was designed by the late John Holmes with the cathedral organist Baron George Minne as a consultant. Not all of the old pipework and casework was restored and retained. The organ now has elements of the English, French Cavaille-Coll and European style, the dominant sound being French. The organ currently has four manuals and 58 stops.


Specification

Positif: Gelind Gedeckt 8, Bell Gamba 8, Singend Principal 4, Koppelflute 4, Nasard 2 2/3, Octavin 2, Tierce 1 3/5, Petit Cymbale III, Cromorne 8, Zymbalstern, Tremulant (adjustable), Octave, Great to Positif, Swell to Positif, Bombarde to Positif, Great: Double Diapason 16, Open Diapason 8, Gamba 8, Bourdon 8, Principal 4, Flute Ouverte 4, Twelfth 2 2/3, Fifteenth 2, Fourniture V, Cymbale II (an overall crazy screaming affair,) Bombarde 16, Trompette 8, Clairon 4, Swell to Great, Positif to Great, Positif Sub-Octave to Great, Swell: Open Diapason 8, Stopped Diapason 8, Salicional 8, Unda Maris 8, Principal 4, Doublette 2, Plein Jeu III, Basson 16, Cornopean 8, Clarion 4, Tremulant (adjustable), Octave, Sub-Octave, Bombarde: Flute Harmonique 8, Voce Umana 8+8, Carillon III, Orlos 8, Trompeta Magna 16 (TC from Trompeta Réal 8), Trompeta Réal 8, Clarin 4 (From Trompeta Réal 8), Campanabella (one octave of bells), Pedal Gravissima 32, Principal 16, Violonbasse 16, Bourdon 16, Double Diapason (Great) Violone 8 (From Violonbasse 16), Gedecktbass 8, Principal 4, Doublette 2, Grosse Fourniture III, Carillon II, Bombarde 16, Basson 16 (Swell) Trumpet 8 (from Bombarde 16), Clarion 4 (From Bombarde 16), Orlos 4 (From Orlos 8, Bombarde) Positif to Pedal, Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal, Bombarde to Pedal, Great and Pedal Pistons Coupled.


Organist

The Organist of St. Patricks Cathedral from 1959 to 2005 was Baron George Minne, born in Belgium in 1924. He had a vast repertoire of Bach, Handel, Mozart and various French composers and was a most accomplished pianist and composer.


See also

* List of carillons of the British Isles * List of tourist attractions in Ireland


References


Bibliography

*''Buildings of Co. Armagh'' by C. E. B. Brett, published by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society in 1999 *''St. Patricks Cathedral, Armagh''. Tomas Ó Fiaich. The Irish Heritage Series: 58, Eason & Sons Ltd, Dublin, 1987.


External links


Xpressions of Armagh
– an interactive galleria which comprises assorted images of Armagh architecture such as St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Antiphoner of Armagh
(mid 15th century), Library of Trinity College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin Library.
St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral, Armagh
Encarta article
Church homepageInterior of the cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armagh, Saint Patrick Buildings and structures in Armagh (city), Saint Patrick Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Armagh, Saint Patrick Roman Catholic cathedrals in Northern Ireland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1904 Churches in County Armagh, Saint Patrick Grade A listed buildings 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom 19th-century churches in Northern Ireland 20th-century churches in Northern Ireland