St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam

For the Roman Catholic Cathedral, see Tuam Cathedral.

St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam
The Cathedral Church of St Mary, Tuam
Exterior of St Mary's Cathedral
53°30′50″N 08°51′18″W
Country	Republic of Ireland
Denomination	Church of Ireland
History
Dedication	Mary, mother of Jesus
Consecrated	9th October 1878
Architecture
Architect(s)	Sir Thomas Newenham Deane
Style	Irish pointed
Groundbreaking	1864
Completed	1878
Specifications
Length	150 ft.
Width	75 ft.
Administration
Province	Province of Armagh
Diocese	Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Bishops of Tuam, Killala and Achonry
Provost	The Very Reverend P L Towers
Dean	The Very Reverend A J Grimason
Archdeacon	The Venerable G L Hastings

Template:Anglican Portal St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam, is the Church of Ireland cathedral church of the Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry in County Galway, Ireland. From the 12^th century until 1839, both before and after the Reformation, it was the seat of the former Archdiocese of Tuam. Most of the present structure dates from the 1870s, but parts of earlier 12^th and 14^th century Cathedrals survive within.

Origins

St Jarlath is considered the founder of Tuam as the seat of a bishop, in about 501, and he stands first in the list of the bishops of Tuam. The traditional date of his death is 540. However, the names of only two other bishops of Tuam are recorded before the 11^th century, Ferdomnach (died 781) and Eugene mac Clerig (died 969).

The medieval importance of Tuam was chiefly the result of its becoming the seat of the O'Connor High Kings of Ireland in the early 11^th century. The O'Connors had previously been based at Cruachain, County Roscommon.

The first Cathedral on the present site was begun in the 12^th century, when Turlough O'Connor (1088–1156) was High King. This marked the establishment of Tuam as the seat of an Archbishop, an event which followed the Synod of Kells of 1152.

The first cathedral lasted only a few years and was destroyed by fire in 1184, recorded thus in the Annals of Lough Cé: "The great church of Tuam-da-Ghualann fell in one day, both roof and stone". After this, no rebuilding was attempted for some one hundred years, except that in the 13^th century a small parish church was built on the site of an old monastery. This long delay was largely the result of the Norman invasion of Ireland, which left the city of Tuam in ruins.

In the 14^th century, a second St Mary's Cathedral was begun, a little to the east of the original building and incorporating into its entrance the remains of the 12^th century chancel and sanctuary. This was then a Roman Catholic place of worship, which it remained until, following the English Reformation, William Mullaly was appointed by Queen Elizabeth I as the first Church of Ireland Archbishop of Tuam, thus dispossessing the Catholic clergy.

Present Cathedral

With the coming of the railway to Tuam in 1861, and the enlargement of the garrison, the town's Anglican population increased and this led to the building of a third cathedral on the site, designed by the architect Sir Thomas Newenham Deane, which was begun in about 1864 and completed in 1878. Charles James Seymour was the Dean at the time. The new or third Cathedral was built on the site of the first Cathedral and incorporated the Hiberno-Romanesque Arch, while the second deBurgo Cathedral became the Diocesan Synod Hall, Library and Registry. The Cathedral was consecrated on 9^th October 1878, with the Bishop of Cork as preacher. The funding for this rebuilding was helped by the combination of Church of Ireland dioceses into the new Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry in 1839.

The style is Irish pointed. The building is 150 ft. long, and the transepts 75 ft. wide. The oak reredos is taken from St. Columb's Cathedral Church, Derry. The chancel chairs were presented by the 5^th Marquess of Sligo. The present sanctuary floor was quarried at the Merlin quarries, Galway. The Bishop's Throne, the Pulpit, the Font and the Chapter Stalls were made of Caen stone and Irish marble. The original organ, which has been rebuilt, was the gift of Archbishop Josiah Hort in 1742. At the S.W. end of the Cathedral is a portion of an ancient Irish Cross.

The Synod Hall stalls are reputed to have been in a Piedmontese monastery, and brought to Ireland by Edward Joshua Cooper M.P. of Markree Castle, Co. Sligo and were later presented to St. Mary's Cathedral.

The present day Cathedral contains antiquities such as a Romanesque 12^th century chancel-arch which has been called "the finest example of Hiberno-Romanesque architecture now extant". It also contains the High Cross of Tuam, a national monument which was moved to its present site in 1992, and a significant part of the 14^th century cathedral. In the south aisle, the ornamented shaft of another high cross dating from the late 12^th century survives, while the choir stalls are Italian baroque and date from about 1740. The incorporation of these older structures was contrary to the wishes of Sir Thomas Deane. The High Cross of Tuam was erected in the 12^th century by Turlough O'Connor to mark the completion of the first cathedral and the appointment of the first Archbishop of Tuam.

The stained glass west window, depicting the Transfiguration of our Lord, dates from 1913 and is very fine. Other smaller windows show figures from the Old Testament, Moses, David, Solomon, Ezra, Malachi and John the Baptist, and a window depicting Christ the King was installed in memory of Deane, the cathedral's architect.

Some major renovations took place between 1985 and 1993, and a new central heating system was added in September 2000.

Chancel Arch

12^th century red sandstone chancel arch in Irish Romanesque style

Closeup of the Chancel Arch

The 12^th century Hiberno-Romanesque Triumphal Arch is one of the outstanding features of St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam. It is the only remaining part of the original Cathedral, erected at this site during the reign of Turlough O'Connor.

The Nave of O’Connor’s Cathedral collapsed in 1184 due to a fire, with only the stone Chancel Arch escaping. In the 14^th century a new Cathedral was built by the DeBurgo family, but to the east of the old building, with the Chancel Arch becoming the entrance to the new Cathedral. The Chancel Arch was blocked up by a stone and wooden structure in the centre of which was placed a door. This structure remained in place for over 500 years. Thus, the Chancel Arch was exposed to the elements for this period, and it is remarkable that it has remained in such a good state of preservation. It was not until the 19^th century that it became once again the Chancel of the present Cathedral.

The rounded Chancel Arch is Hiberno-Romanesque in style, and is built of red sandstone. As there is no keystone in the arch, the columns supporting the capitals of the arch have a slight inward inclination in order to bear and support the tremendous weight of the whole structure. This means that the columns are not perpendicular, so that the space at the base of the supporting columns is wider than at the capitals. The arch which is perfectly circular, is 22 ft. 6 ins. wide at the base and 16 ft. high from the ground. It consists of six consecutive semi-circular arches of elaborately ornamented stonework supported on columns, which with the exception of the outside one, on each side, are semi-circular and not ornamented. The capitals are richly sculptured with a variety of interlaced traceries, something similar to those on the base of the High Cross in the Square. There are carved grotesque faces on the jambs.

In the judgement of antiquary, Dr. George Petrie, "The Ancient Church of Tuam, was not only a larger but more splendid structure than Cormac's Church at Cashel, and not unworthy of the powerful Monarch to whom it chiefly owes its erection." In looking at the Arch one is indeed so impressed by its dignity and beauty, that one is given a real vision of what the Ancient Cathedral must have been in its original glory and splendour - one of the outstanding Cathedrals of its period in Western Europe.

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  West window depicting the Transfiguration of Our Lord
• 
  19^th century engraving by Deane.
• 
  Reconstruction under way in 1865

Bibliography

• Higgins, Jim, and Parsons, Aisling (eds.) St Mary's Cathedral, Church of Ireland, Tuam: Restoration & History (Tuam, Friends of St Mary's Cathedral, 1995)
• Claffey, John A., 'The restoration of St Mary's Cathedral 1863–78', in Claffey, John A. (ed.), Glimpses of Tuam since the famine (Tuam: Old Tuam Society, 1997) 79–88

External links

• Parish News for St Mary's Cathedral at tuam.anglican.org
• Exterior of the Cathedral