Tuam’s Cathedral of the Assumption is one of the finest churches in Ireland

The Cathedral of the Assumption stands at the top of a tree-lined mall off Bishop Street in Tuam, Co Galway (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Patrick Comerford

The principal ecclesiastical sites in Tuam, Co Galway, include Saint Mary’s Cathedral on High Street, at the west end of the town, Temple Jarlath, which is nearby, and the former episcopal palace, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption and its campus of church buildings and schools at the east end of the town.

I was in Tuam on Sunday for a funeral in the Cathedral of the Assumption, and spent some time there as well as visiting Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Temple Jarlath and the former episcopal palace.

The Cathedral of the Assumption off Bishop Street is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tuam, which includes half of Co Galway, half of Co Mayo and part of Co Roscommon.

This is one of the finest early 19th century Roman Catholic cathedrals in Ireland and one of the finest church buildings in Ireland.

From start to finish, the cathedral design was carried through by the same architect, Dominick Madden.

Dominick Madden or O’Madden was active in Dublin in the early 19th century and in the midlands and the west from 1817 until the late 1820s. In 1802-1805, he was working on several buildings in the Phoenix Park with Robert Woodgate, architect to the Board of Works. In 1808, he succeeded John Behan as measurer to the Board of Works. But he was dismissed in 1810 for irregular conduct, including the theft of furniture from the Vice-Regal Lodge, and was succeeded by Bryan Bolger.

Following his disgrace in Dublin, Madden moved to the West, where he worked for Christopher St George at Kilcolgan Castle, Co Galway (1814), for Martin Kirwan at Dalgan Park, Shrule, Co Mayo (1817-1822), as well as working at Mount Bellew, Co Galway, and Ballyfin, Co Laois.

Madden went on to design three major Roman Catholic churches in the west: Saint Jarlath’s Cathedral, Tuam, Co Galway (1827), Saint Muiredach’s Cathedral, Ballina, Co Mayo (1827), and Saint Peter and Saint Paul Pro-Cathedral, Ennis, Co Clare (1828).

Inside the Cathedral of the Assumption in Tuam, looking east (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

However, Madden was dismissed as the architect of Saint Jarlath’s in 1829, apparently after a disagreement over the design of the east end, and Bernard Mullins (1772-1851) of Birr and Dublin was asked to act as a consultant for the completion of the cathedral.

In an anonymous letter to Archbishop Oliver Kelly of Tuam, his nephew and assistant, Peter Madden, accused the building committee and its chair, Martin Loftus, of treating his uncle unfairly and not paying him.

No more works by Dominick Madden are recorded after 1829. One account says he ‘abandoned his Irish practice to become chief engineer of one of the South American republics.’ But by 1832 he was living in Galway, and he died there in March 1837.

After Madden’s dismissal, the architect Marcus Murray of Roscommon was responsible for the ornamentation of cathedral, while the cut-stone work is by his son William Murray. The stucco work is by John Daven of Galway.

The foundation stone of the cathedral was laid by Archbishop Oliver Kelly on 30 April 1827, two years before Catholic Emancipation, and the cathedral was consecrated by Archbishop Kelly’s successor, Archbishop John MacHale (1791-1881), on 18 August 1836.

The coat-of-arms of Archbishop John MacHale on the west front of the tower of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Tuam (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The Cathedral of the Assumption is a cruciform-plan gable-fronted cathedral built in 1827-1831, and designed in 14th century Gothic style, with a three-stage tower at the liturgical west end.

Outside, the Gothic plan of the cathedral is emphasised by its rich elaborate Gothic detailw, especially in the great east window, but also in the crenellations of the side chapels, the gable copings of the east gable, and the multiple pinnacles on octagonal turrets flanking the transept gables.

The cathedral has a five-bay nave, a flanking tower, and a rectangular chancel at the liturgical east end flanked by minor chapels.

The ashlar limestone walls have base moulding, with square-plan three-stage clasping buttresses at the corners of building. The buttresses at the west front and the transepts are recessed and are octagonal above the bottom stage, with arcade details at the top stage, and are topped by crocketed pinnacles. The buttresses at the east end are topped with open work and they have cusped heads at the openings set in gablets topped with sculpted finials and flanked by clasping buttresses that having crocketed pinnacles.

The copings at the east end gable are openwork screens with quatrefoil details set in squares. The parapets to the blocks flanking the chancel have crenellations and cusped pointed arch openings with cross finials and quatrefoil details at the bases. The bays of the cathedral are divided by more slender buttresses topped by single crocketed finials.

Inside the Cathedral of the Assumption in Tuam, looking west (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Throughout the cathedral there are pointed windows with chamfered surrounds and hood-mouldings, filled with stained glass. The nave and transepts have triple-light windows, and there is a five-light East Window.

This East Window has elaborate tracery and sculpted hood-moulding with a finial. Madden’s design for most of the tracery in the East Window is based on the East Window is based on the Franciscan friary in Claregalway, Co Galway.

The Ascension window in the North Transept (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The side chapels have small two-light windows with cusped heads and with tracery above, and with sculpted hood-mouldings that have finials.

The stages of the tower are defined by string courses. There are octagonal clasping buttresses to the tower, topped by crocketed pinnacles. These pinnacles are linked by openwork screens with cusped pointed arch openings, and the middle pinnacles are supported on moulded corbels.

The tower has Tudor arch recesses at the top stage with cusped detailing, quatrefoils to the spandrels and pointed arch openings with Y-tracery and sculpted heads to the mullioned openings with timber louvers, and hood-mouldings.

The middle stage of the tower has clock faces in oculus-like settings in pointed frames that have four-light windows below with cusped pointed arch heads, and elaborate hood-mouldings with crocketed pinnacles and human head stops.

The doorways at the gable-front have moulded surrounds, hood-mouldings and carved timber double-leaf doors with limestone thresholds.

The doorways at the transepts have Tudor arches with moulded surrounds and label-mouldings, timber battened double-leaf doors and overdoors and they are flanked by stoups. Above the main entrance, Archbishop MacHale’s coat of arms is flanked by two grotesque faces, typical of the creative works and designs of William Murray.

The quality of the stone carving, the consistency of design and the boldness of the detail makes this cathedral outstanding.

The cathedral has pitched slate roofs, and the main roofs have parapets with base moulding and crenellations.

Inside the Cathedral of the Assumption in Tuam, looking towards the North Transept (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Inside, the cathedral displays excellent work in its clustered columns and detailed vaulted ceilings, and it is enhanced by good-quality stained-glass windows.

The interior is made spacious by the elaborate details, including the slender octagonal columns. There are pointed arches, facets, moulded capitals and elaborate ribbed vaulting with decorative bosses and masks at the junction of the ribs.

The High Altar area in the Cathedral of the Assumption (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The High Altar area has a carved timber screen and a modern altar. The original marble High Altar was the work of the sculptor Giuseppe Leonardi of Rome, whose other works in Ireland include the monument to Archbishop John Thomas Troy in the Pro-Cathedral, Dublin.

This High Altar was said to be the only item in the cathedral of foreign origin. However, in the wake of the liturgical reforms introduced by Vatican II, it was replaced by a modern altar of Wicklow granite.

The organ gallery is fronted by a baldachino with Gothic detailing (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

At the same time, the elaborate Victorian carpentry by John Burke of Tuam, including the bishop’s throne, communion rails and pulpit, were also removed.

However, Burke’s wood-carving skills can still be seen in his organ loft which survived. The organ gallery is fronted by a baldachino with Gothic detailing.

An image of Michael O’Connor’s East Window, currently being repaired and restored (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

There are stained-glass windows throughout the nave, and the East Window, dated 1832, is particularly elaborate. The East Window and other windows are the work of the Dublin-born artist Michael O’Connor (1801-1867).

O’Connor moved to England in 1842, living first in Bristol and from 1845 on in London. He had a successful career in England, working with some of the leading architects of the day, including AWN Pugin and William Butterfield.

The East Window is currently in Germany for repairs and restoration work. But a banner in front of the tracery shows details of the window, with the Virgin Mary in the centre flanked by the four evangelists, Saint Matthew and Saint Mark on the left and Saint Luke and Saint John on the right.

In the 10 compartments above are the coats of arms of the Archbishop of Tuam and families who were benefactors of the cathedral. They are, from left, St George, Kirwan, Bellew, the Marquis of Sligo (Browne), the Diocese of Tuam, Archbishop Kelly, the Earl of Shrewsbury (Talbot), Handcock, Newell and Burke.

Saint Jarlath in Richard King’s window in the North Transept (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Two modern stained glass transept windows of Saint Jarlath and Saint Patrick were installed in 1961. They are the work of Richard Joseph King (1907-1974), manager of the Harry Clarke studios in Dublin from 1935 until 1940, when he set up his own studios in Dalkey.

Saint Patrick depicted in Richard King’s window in the North Transept (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The Stations of the Cross were painted in Italy in the early 19th century. Archbishop John MacHale bought the paintings for £200 and they were erected in the cathedral in 1861. The frames are of oak and gilded.

Some restoration work was carried out on the Stations of the Cross in 1925, and a major restoration and conservation project was carried out in 1998-1999, when the paintings were put on new stretchers, relined, repaired, cleaned and varnished. The frames were repaired, missing and decayed pieces were replaced, and they were treated, cleaned and regilded. The restored stations were rededicated by Archbishop Neary on 31 October 1999.

The baptismal font and the north aisle in the Cathedral of the Assumption (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

A framed oil-on-canvas painting of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary dates from 1690 and is the work of Carlo Maratta (1625-1713) of the Bolognese school. The painting was bought in Rome in 1842 and was presented to the cathedral in 1884 by Sir William Gregory, husband of Lady Augusta Gregory of the Abbey Theatre.

The statue of Archbishop John MacHale by Sir Thomas Farrell (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Outside, the cathedral is flanked by statues by Sir Thomas Farrell of Archbishop John MacHale and William Burke of Tuam, whose endowments enabled the Sisters of Mercy to establish their convents in the cathedral precincts.

Sir Thomas Farrell’s statue of William Burke was modelled by Thomas Henry Burke, later the Under Secretary of Ireland (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Interestingly, the statue of Burke was modelled by his Tuam-born namesake, Thomas Henry Burke, later the Under Secretary of Ireland or most senior civil servant. Burke was murdered in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, in 1882, with the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish.

The Cathedral of the Assumption in Tuam, Co Galway, seen from the south-west (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Tuam, is the third cathedral on the site

The west front of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Tuam, Co Galway … the third cathedral on the site, it was designed by Sir Thomas Deane (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Patrick Comerford

The principal ecclesiastical sites in Tuam, Co Galway, include Saint Mary’s Cathedral on High Street, at the west end of the town, Temple Jarlath, which is nearby, and the former episcopal palace, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption and its campus of church buildings and schools at the east end of the town.

I was in Tuam on Sunday for a funeral in the Cathedral of the Assumption, and after a cursory visit to Temple Jarlath two of us walked on west to Saint Mary’s, the magnificent Church of Ireland cathedral of the Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.

From the 12th century until 1839, both before and after the Reformation, this was the seat of the Archbishops of Tuam. Most of the present structure dates from the 1870s, but parts of the earlier 12th and 14th century cathedrals survive on the site.

The founder and first bishop of Tuam is said to be Saint Jarlath, who founded a church here about 501. He is said to have died ca 540-550, but before the 11th century only two other Bishops of Tuam are named: Ferdomnach (died 781) and Eugene mac Clerig (died 969).

The mediaeval importance of Tuam develops only in the 11th century when the O’Connor dynasty of High Kings of Ireland made Tuam their seat, moving there from Rathcroghan, near Tulsk, Co Roscommon.

Boarded up windows above the chancel of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Tuam (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The first cathedral on the present site was built in the 12th century, when Turlough O’Connor (1088-1156) was High King. This marked the establishment of Tuam as the seat of an archbishop following the Synod of Kells of 1152.

This first cathedral collapsed in a fire in 1184, with only the stone chancel arch escaping the fire. The site was abandoned for almost 100 years. A small parish church was built in the 13th century at Temple Jarlath, the site of an old monastery.

A second cathedral was built in the 14th century by the de Burgo family, a little to the east of the original building and incorporating the remains of the 12th century chancel and sanctuary. But this chancel arch was blocked up by a stone-and-wooden structure, with a door in its centre. This structure remained in place for over 500 years, when the chancel arch was exposed to the elements.

When the railway arrived in Tuam in 1860-1861 and the army barracks was enlarged, the Anglican population of Tuam more than doubled from 310 to 640, so that the 14th century cathedral was no longer large enough to accommodate the congregation. This inspired Charles James Seymour, Dean of Tuam, to commission a third cathedral on this site in 1861-1878.

The north transept of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Tuam (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

This third cathedral was designed by the architect Sir Thomas Newenham Deane (1828-1899) was born at Dundanion, Co Cork, the eldest son of Thomas Deane and his second wife, Eliza Newenham. He was educated at Rugby and Trinity College Dublin. After graduating in 1849, he became a pupil in his father’s office in Cork.

Deane and his father’s assistant, Benjamin Woodward (1816-1861), became partners in the practice of Deane and Woodward in 1851, and set up an office at No 3 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin. They developed a Gothic style based on the principles laid down by John Ruskin, and their practice played an important role in the Gothic revival in England. Their two most important buildings are the Museum in Trinity College Dublin (1854-1857) and the Oxford Museum (1854-1860).

Woodward died in Lyons in France in 1862. Deane was appointed the first Superintendent of National Monuments in 1875. In 1890, Deane was knighted at the opening of the National Library and the National Museum in Kildare Street.

Deane died suddenly in his office at 37 Saint Stephen’s Green, Dublin, in 1899 and his practice was continued by his son, Thomas Manly Deane.

Deane’s best known works include the Museum Building in Oxford and the National Library and the National Museum in Kildare Street, Dublin, book-ending Leinster House. Four of his buildings are among my favourite works of architecture in Dublin: the Museum Building in Trinity College; No 46-47 Dame Street, built in 1869-1871 for the Crown Life Assurance Co; the Allied Irish Bank, formerly the Munster and Leinster Bank, at 7-10 Dame Street; and the former Kildare Street Club on Kildare Street.

Deane’s other works also include the former Stopford House Hotel, or Invermore, in Courtown, Co Wexford, designed around 1860 for the Earl Courtown’s land agent, and at one time was the home of Eva Mary Comerford (née Esmond) and her daughter Maire Comerford (1893-1982); Rathmichael Parish Church (1863), Co Dublin; Turlough House, Co Mayo, built for Charles Lionel Fitzgerald; the façade of Saint Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, Dublin (1866-1869); and the Graduates’ Memorial Building (GMB) in Trinity College Dublin (1899).

Deane’s cathedral in Tuam was consecrated on 9 October 1878, and Robert Gregg, Bishop of Cork, was the preacher.

The tower and spire of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Tuam, are adaptations of the tower and spire of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Deane designed this third cathedral in the Irish pointed style. The building is 46 metres (150 ft) long, and the transepts 23 metres (75 ft) wide.

Deane’s intention – never properly fulfilled – was to complete, to his own designs, the work begun in the 14th century by Archbishop William de Bermingham (1289-1310). To the west of the 12th century chancel he built a choir, north and south transepts, a massive central tower and spire, and an aisled nave of five bays with a clerestory.

The tower and spire are 55 metres high and are adaptations of the tower and spire of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. The chancel has two bays and tall walls and two tall pointed windows.

Deane’s design was inspired in many ways by Saint Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny. The nave and choir have a stepped and machiolated parapet. The west door is surmounted by an arcade of seven equal trefoil headed windows, with the central window commemorating Deane.

A south door in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Tuam (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Deane’s cathedral incorporates the 12th century Hiberno-Romanesque arch, the only remaining part of the original cathedral built in the reign of Turlough O’Connor.

The arch is built of red sandstone and has been described as ‘the finest example of Hiberno-Romanesque architecture now extant.’ As this arch has no keystone, the columns supporting the capitals of the arch have a slight inward inclination to bear and support the weight of the structure. This means that the columns are not perpendicular, and the space at the base of the supporting columns is wider than at the capitals.

The arch is 6.85 metres wide at the base and 4.88 metres high. It consists of six consecutive semi-circular arches of elaborately ornamented stonework supported on columns. The capitals are richly sculptured with a variety of interlaced traceries, similar to those on the base of the High Cross of Tuam, and there are carved grotesque faces on the jambs.

A damaged window in the north transept (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The west window, depicting the Transfiguration, dates from 1913. Other windows depict Biblical figures, including Moses, David, Solomon, Ezra, Malachi and Saint John the Baptist. Solomon and Ezra were chosen because of their role in building and rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. A window depicting Christ the King is in memory of the architect Deane.

The oak reredos came from Saint Columb’s Cathedral, Derry. The chancel chairs were presented by Henry Browne, 5th Marquess of Sligo. The Bishop’s Throne, pulpit, font and chapter stalls are made of Caen stone and Irish marble and were donated by Thomas Plunket (1792-1866), Lord Plunket and Bishop of Tuam (1839-1866).

The original organ was the gift of Archbishop Josiah Hort in 1742. But it was severely damaged by damp, and a new organ was bought and installed in 1913.

The High Cross of Tuam was moved to the cathedral in 1992. This High Cross was erected in the 12th century by Turlough O’Connor to mark the completion of the first cathedral and the appointment of the first Archbishop of Tuam. The ornamented shaft of another high cross dating from the late 12th century is in the south aisle.

The Synod Hall incorporates the second, 14th century cathedral … the East Window bears a striking resemblance to the East Window in Exeter Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The second cathedral, built by the de Burgo family and Archbishop de Bermingham, became the Diocesan Synod Hall, Library and Registry. The style of what had been the second cathedral in Tuam is English Gothic, which is rare in Ireland. The five-light east window features geometric tracery that includes two quatrefoil windows under a sexfoil centrepiece. This composition bears a striking resemblance to Exeter Cathedral.

The buttresses here on the south and east walls have niches above the first weathering that reputedly held statues of the four evangelists until the Reformation.

The Synod Hall once included stalls said to have once stood in a monastery in northern Italy. After Napoleon destroyed the monastery, the stalls were hidden in a cellar in Turin for 50 years until they were bought in Nice for £3,000 by Edward Joshua Cooper, MP, of Markree Castle, Co Sligo. He placed them in his private chapel in his castle, and presented them to Saint Mary’s Cathedral in 1882. They were sold in 1984 and returned to Italy.

Some major renovations took place in 1985-1993, and a new central heating system was added in 2000. The synod hall was restored in 1985-1987.

The Dean of Tuam is the Very Revd Alistair Grimason, and the chapter consists of the Dean, the Provost, the Archdeacon, Gary Hastings (since 2007), and the Prebendaries of Balla and Killabegs, Faldown and Kilmainmore, Kilmeen and Kilmoylan, and Taghsaxon and Laccagh.

Holy Communion is celebrated at 12 noon on Sundays, and the cathedral is open to visitors on Friday mornings and afternoons during the summer months.

Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Tuam, seen from the south-east (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)