Cavan Cathedral

Cavan Cathedral
Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Felim
Location	Cavan, County Cavan
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	In Use
Consecrated	1947
Architecture
Style	Neoclassical
Groundbreaking	1938
Completed	1942
Construction cost	£209,000
Administration
Archdiocese	Armagh
Diocese	Kilmore
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Philip Leo O'Reilly

The Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Felim, also known as Cavan Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Cavan, Ireland. It is the seat of the Bishop of Kilmore, and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kilmore.

History

In 1152, the Diocese of Kilmore was formally established by Cardinal Giovanni Paparoni at the synod of Kells. In 1454, Pope Nicholas V gave permission for the ancient church at Kilmore (founded in the sixth century by Saint Felim) to be the cathedral church of Kilmore diocese. It was rebuilt and became to be known in Irish as An Chill Mhór (meaning Great Church) and anglicised as Kilmore, which gave its name to the diocese, a name which has remained ever since. During the Reformation, the Roman Catholic diocese lost possession of the cathedral and all the other temporalities and passed into the hands of the Church of Ireland. Following the completion of the new Anglican cathedral in 1860, the pre-Reformation cathedral became a Church of Ireland parochial hall.

For almost 300 years the Roman Catholic diocese did not have a cathedral. In 1862, Cavan parish church was extended and it became the new cathedral of the diocese under Bishop James Browne. In 1938 construction of the present cathedral began, and was completed in 1942 under Bishop Patrick Lyons. W.H. Byrne & Son were the architects of the new cathedral, and the contractor was John Sisk & Son. The total build cost of the cathedral was £209,000.

The cathedral was dedicated to Saint Patrick and Saint Felim in 1942 and consecrated in 1947. Six stained glass windows from the studios of Harry Clarke were added to the cathedral in 1994.

External links

• Information on the cathedral from the Diocese of Kilmore