St Patrick’s Cathedral

St Patrick, according to tradition, founded his first stone church in Ireland on the site of our sister Cathedral in Armagh, St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, in 445. The ninth century Book of Armagh relates a story of Patrick uniting a fawn with its mother on the hill where this Catholic Cathedral stands, depicted in the great east window (#40.)  This incident is fondly construed as a pre-empting by Patrick of the building of this Cathedral under his patronage.

The Act of Catholic Emancipation in 1829 heralded a building flurry of Catholic cathedrals and churches throughout Ireland.  The foundation stone of this neo-Gothic Cathedral was laid by Primate William Crolly on St Patrick’s Day, 1840. The main structure is of Armagh limestone and Dungannon freestone. Building was suspended during the famine years and Primate Crolly died from cholera in 1849.

In 1900 Cardinal Michael Logue initiated the interior decoration, adding wall and floor mosaics, ceiling painting (Oreste Amici,) stained glass windows (Meyer of Munich,) and Italian marble  altars and reredoses. The interiorly decorated Cathedral was consecrated in 1904. The 39 carillon bells were cast in 1920 by John Taylor, England.

A reordering of the sanctuary took place in 1982. In 2002 Cardinal Seán Brady undertook a complete restoration of the Cathedral, internally and externally. The Sanctuary was again reordered allowing a new ambulatory leading to the Marian Shrine. The restored Cathedral was dedicated on 25 May 2003.