St Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny

For the Church of Ireland cathedral, see St. Canice's Cathedral.

St Mary’s Cathedral
Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Location	County Kilkenny
Country	Republic of Ireland
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Ossory

St Mary’s is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory. It is situated on James’s Street, Kilkenny, Ireland.

Saint Mary’s was designed by William Deane Butler (c.1794-1857). He was chosen by Bishop William Kinsella (1793-1845) who instigated the building of St. Mary’s in February 1842. Work began in April 1843 and finished in 1857. On Sunday 4 October 1857, St. Mary’s had its grand opening, which consisted of a two-and-three-quarter hour ceremony that began at 6.15am. The cost of the building is estimated to have been £25,000.

St. Mary’s is made from cut-limestone which was sourced locally. The cathedral has a cruciform plan and its style is described as ‘Early English Gothic’. The design is believed to have been based on Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucester, England. It is situated on the highest point in Kilkenny City and is a significant local landmark.

The cathedral is variously referred to as "St Mary’s", "the church of St Kieran" and "the Cathedral of the Assumption".

St. Mary’s has a noted sculpture of the Madonna by Giovanni Maria Benzoni (1809-1873).

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  Vault in the apse
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  Rear nave
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  Nave facing the Sanctuary

External links

• St. Mary’s website.
• St. Mary’s cathedral on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage website
• A good history of St Mary’s here
• A biography of William Deane Butler
• A List of architects and designers that worked on St Mary’s Cathedral.

• 
  Main façade
• 
  Tower, trancept(left) and apse (right
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  The nave
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  Kilkenny Panorama with St Mary's Cathedral at Background