Daily prayers in Ordinary Time with USPG: (16) 13 June 2023

Holy Trinity Cathedral on Barronstrand Street, Waterford, was designed by John Roberts and is the oldest Roman Catholic Cathedral in Ireland (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The First Sunday after Trinity was celebrated on Sunday (11 June 2023). Before this day begins, I am taking some time this morning for prayer, reading and reflection.

Over these weeks after Trinity Sunday, I am reflecting each morning in these ways:

1, Looking at relevant images or stained glass window in a church, chapel or cathedral I know;

2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Inside Holy Trinity Cathedral in Waterford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Holy Trinity Cathedral, Waterford:

My photographs this morning are from the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity on Barronstrand Street, Waterford. This is one of the two cathedrals in the city designed by John Roberts (1714-1796), the great architect of Georgian Waterford, and is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in Ireland.

Both cathedrals are part of the Georgian glory of Waterford, and Holy Trinity Cathedral is an important landmark in the heart of the city.

A chapel had stood on the site of cathedral since 1700, built with permission of the city corporation at the height of the Penal Laws. But that chapel was hidden behind other buildings on the street, and was accessed from Conduit Lane through a long, narrow passage.

John Roberts had built Christ Church Cathedral, the new Anglican cathedral on the site of Waterford’s mediaeval Gothic cathedral, in 1773, and this was finally completed in 1792. A year later, in 1793, Roberts was invited to build a new Roman Catholic cathedral for the city on the site of the old Penal chapel and an adjoining plot of land on Barronstrand Street provided by the city corporation.

The cathedral was built in 1793-1796, making it Ireland’s oldest Roman Catholic cathedral. It was built while William Egan was Bishop of Waterford and Lismore (1775-1796) at a total cost of £20,000.

Roberts was over 80 when he designed this cathedral. He was a ‘hands-on’ architect and rose each morning at 6 am to superintend the work. But one morning he rose by mistake at 3 am, and when he arrived the cathedral was empty. He sat down in the still-unfinished cathedral, fell asleep, and caught the chill from which he died on 23 May 1796. He was buried in the French Church in Waterford.

The cathedral is a detached, six-bay double-height classical-style building. It is basically a rectangle with an apsidal east end. It was built originally on a T-shaped plan, with a six-bay, double-height nave and four-bay double-height side aisles to the north and south.

It was extended in 1829-1837, when the sanctuary was extended with the addition of a single-bay, double-height chancel at the east end.

When William Makepeace Thackeray visited the cathedral in 1840, he thought it was ‘a large, dingy … chapel of some pretensions’ that remained unfinished.

The cathedral was renovated in 1854, when a single-bay, double-height lower apse was added at the east end on a canted plan. There were plans at that time to erect the portico, but it was found the foundations stood on the bed of a reclaimed creek and could not bear the weight.

However, the cathedral was not completed until 1893, when a five-bay, two-storey Ionic frontispiece was added by William Henry Byrne (1844-1917) at the west end, with a three-bay two-storey pedimented breakfront. The moulded surround to the pediment has a figurative tympanum, with statues above, and a balustraded parapet with cut-stone coping.

The cathedral, completed a century after Roberts first began his work, was consecrated 130 years ago on 24 September 1893.

Inside, there are round-headed arcades in the side aisles, and the roof is supported by large Corinthian columns set in groups of four and leaning out of the perpendicular. The interior features of artistic importance include tiled floors, carved pine pews, stained glass windows (1885) by the Meyer Company of Munich, organ (1858), timber galleries and a vaulted roof.

The U-shaped, timber panelled gallery, with a bowed section at the choir gallery in the west, stands on fluted Ionic pine columns.

The marble High Altar by Joseph Farrell and the reredos date from 1881. The decorative baldacchino is supported by five Corinthian columns with gilt capitals, white marble shafts and square red marble bases. The high altar is partly obscured by the modern carved oak altar.

The bishop’s throne, the chapter and choir stalls, and the high pulpit are carved in Irish oak.

The organ, in a bow-fronted gallery above the west entrance, was built by William Hill & Sons in 1858 and was played for the first time by WT Best, the celebrated organist of Saint George’s Hall, Liverpool, at Solemn High Mass on Sunday 29 August 1858. Edward Comerford was the organist at Waterford Cathedral until he died in 1894. The organ was refurbished by Hills in 1910 and extensively altered in 1963-1964.

Patrick Comerford (1586-1652), the 17th century Roman Catholic Bishop of Waterford (1629-1652), who took advantage of the political climate during the Confederation of Kilkenny to take possession of Christ Church Cathedral, is named twice in tablets in Holy Trinity Cathedral.

On one plaque he is listed along with other distinguished theologians, priests and bishops from Waterford, including Peter Lombard, Archbishop of Armagh, James White, the Jesuits Michael Wadding, Peter Wadding and Ambrose Wadding, Thomas Walsh, Archbishop of Cashel, and the historian Geoffrey Keating.

A second plaque lists Patrick Comerford among the Bishops of Waterford, between Patrick Walsh and John Brenan, who accused Patrick Comerford of taking the cathedral vestments with him when left Waterford in 1650 after the Cromwellian siege of the city.

Bishop Patrick Comerford died at Nantes on 10 March 1652, aged 66, and was buried in Nantes Cathedral with full episcopal honours.

Holy Trinity Cathedral was refurbished in 1977 following the Second Vatican Council. A new altar was installed so that Mass could be celebrated facing the people. A gift of 10 crystal chandeliers from Waterford Crystal added to the beauty of the cathedral.

The cathedral was refloored and the sacristy was rebuilt in the early 1990s. Further work was completed in November 2006 with a re-fit of structure, the interior and exterior.

Railings once separated the church from the street, but these have since been removed, and there is a concrete brick cobbled forecourt in front of the cathedral today.

In a small, narrow churchyard on the south side of the cathedral, many of the former Bishops of Waterford and Lismore are buried, including Thomas Hussey who was bishop 1797-1803 and the first Roman Catholic bishop to live in Waterford since Patrick Comerford (1586-1652) left in 1651 after the Cromwellian siege of the city.

The square near Barronstrand Street, formerly known as Red Square, was re-named John Roberts Square in 2000 to honour his influence on the architecture of Waterford.

Inside, the cathedral roof is supported by large Corinthian columns set in groups of four and leaning out of the perpendicular (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 5: 13-16 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 13 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’

The marble High Altar, reredos and baldacchino (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayer:

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Opening the World for Children through Learning.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday.

The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (13 June 2023) invites us to pray:

We pray for all children who are currently forced into labour. For the situations that are leading to their forced involvement.

The Hills organ in the bow-fronted gallery above the west entrance (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Collect:

O God,
the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do no good thing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in the keeping of your commandments
we may please you both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Post Communion:

Eternal Father,
we thank you for nourishing us
with these heavenly gifts:
may our communion strengthen us in faith,
build us up in hope,
and make us grow in love;
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Patrick Comerford listed among the distinguished theologians, priests and bishops from Waterford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Patrick Comerford listed among the Bishops of Waterford and Lismore (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The coat-of-arms of a Bishop of Waterford and Lismore above the west door of the cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Rathmines Town Hall and the clock tower known to everyone as the ‘four-faced liar’

The clock tower of Rathmines Town Hall is a prominent landmark, dominating the skyline (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Three buildings dominate the streetscape and the skyline of Rathmines, where we were staying last week: the Catholic parish church with its great green copper dome, which I was writing about on Saturday; Rathmines Library, which opened 110 years ago, and which I wrote about yesterday afternoon; and the former Town Hall, which is a prominent landmark with its very tall clock tower.

Rathmines is a vibrant south Dublin suburb today. Séamas Ó Máitiú, in his recent study of Rathmines in a series being produced by the Irish Historic Towns Atlas project in the Royal Irish Academy, traces how Rathmines first emerged as village. As Rathmines developed over the centuries, its centre shifted north, from a core centred on the original Rathmines Castle on the site of Palmerston Park to the area along Rathmines Road, including the Town Hall and the Library.

In the 19th century, some of the areas around Dublin city were ‘townships’. They were like small towns in themselves, each with their own town hall and town commissioners, with responsibility for lighting, water supply, sewage and drainage and building roads and houses.

Rathmines became one of these townships in 1847 when the Rathmines Township was created by Act of Parliament on 22 July 1847. Rathgar and Sallymount, or present-day Ranelagh, were added to the renamed Rathmines and Rathgar Township in 1862. The Township was further extended in 1866 to include areas in Uppercross, and Milltown was added in 1880.

Originally the township was governed by Commissioners, who felt they needed a place to meet and conduct business. Their first house was at 71 Rathmines Road, which became the first town hall.

Initially, the council was made up of local businessmen and other eminent figures. The original township began as a sanitary area, concerned with fresh water supplies, drains and sewerage systems. But new functions were added with subsequent Acts, including responsibility for public lighting and other shared public facilities which was provided jointly with the Pembroke Township.

The Rathmines commissioners asked one of the best-known architects of the day, Sir Thomas Drew (1838-1910), to design a new town hall. Work on building a new Town Hall began in 1895 on the site of the previous town hall.

Sir Thomas Drew was born in Belfast, a son of the Revd Canon Dr Thomas Drew, ‘a militant Orange’ clergyman who was Rector of Christ Church, Durham Street, Belfast, and later of Loughinisland, Co Down, and Precentor of Down Cathedral.

The younger Thomas Drew was articled in 1854 to Charles Lanyon, who later went into partnership with William Henry Lynn. Drew was Lanyon’s superintendent and clerk of works in 1858-1861. In 1861, he formed a brief partnership with Thomas Turner in Belfast, but the following year he moved to Dublin, where he became principal assistant to William George Murray.

Drew became the diocesan architect of Down, Connor and Dromore in 1865, but remained Murray’s chief assistant until 1867. Later he practised on his own, although in 1870 he worked closely with William Fogerty before the Limerick-born architect moved to the US.

Drew’s pupils and assistants included WDE Butler, John Frederick Fogerty, Daniel J Freeman, Joseph Aloysius Geoghegan, Frederick Hicks (who designed Rathmines Library), William Sampson Jervois, Charles Hoffe Mitchell, John Mansfield Mitchell, Francis Nolan, Lucius O’Callaghan, Richard Caulfeild Orpen, John Charles Wilmot and probably Harold Edgar Coyle.

Drew reached the peak of his career with his design for Saint Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast. He was also the consulting architect for Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, after its restoration by George Edmund Street, and for Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Saint Patrick’s (Church of Ireland) Cathedral, Armagh, and Saint Columb’s Cathedral, Derry. He was also responsible for the restoration of Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford, which I am looking at in my prayer diary later this week, and he advised on the restoration of the nave pillars in Truro Cathedral.

Drew was president of the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland (RIAI, 1892-1901), the Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI, 1875-1876), the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (RSAI, 1894-1897) and the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA, 1900-1910), the only person to ever hold all four positions.

He was a one-time editor of the Irish Builder, gave frequent papers on architectural and antiquarian topics, and for many years delivered a lecture on the history and fabric of Christ Church Cathedral at Strongbow’s tomb every Saint Stephen’s Day. He was Professor of Architecture at the Royal Hibernian Academy (1884-1910), and in 1894 he became professor and lecturer in architecture at the Metropolitan School of Art.

Drew was knighted in Queen Victoria’s birthday honours in 1900. He received an honorary degree of LL.D. from Trinity College Dublin in 1905. Two months before his death, he was invited to become the first Professor of Architecture in the National University of Ireland.

He died on 13 March 1910 and was buried in Dean’s Grange cemetery. He married Adelaide Anne, sister of William George Murray, in 1871; she died on 9 January 1913. His offices were at 64 Upper Sackville Street (1862), 68 Lower Gardiner Street (1863), 60 Sackville Street Upper (1867-1872), Brunswick Chambers, 6 Saint Stephen’s Green (1873-1888) and 22 Clare Street (1889-1910). He lived at 1 Martello Avenue, Dun Laoghaire (1873-1877), and Gortnadrew, 5 Alma Road, Monkstown (1879-1910).

The clock tower on Rathmines Town Hall has been known to generations of local people as the ‘four-faced liar’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Drew’s town hall in Rathmines is a fine building of red sandstone and brick with a bay window on the first floor. The builder was John Good, the clerk of works was P Coyle, and the total expenditure was about £18,000.

The best-known feature of the Town Hall is the high clock tower, which can be seen from afar. The clock was made by a local firm, Chancellor and Son, who secured the commission when they claimed they could beat any English and Scottish company.

The clock has four faces, one for each side of the tower. Before the clock could be run with electricity, the four sides would often show different times so the clock was called ‘four-faced liar.’ Its chime is as familiar to Dubliners as Big Ben is to Londoners.

The Rathmines and Rathgar Urban District Council (UDC) was established under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. After that, the council built a number of small housing schemes under legislation for working class housing.

The Urban District Council met for the first time in Drew’s magnificent Town Hall in January 1899. The franchise was extended later that year and in time the council membership would become more diverse.

The town commissioners met in the boardroom in the town hall. The town hall also had a gymnasium, a kitchen, a supper room, that could be hired, and an assembly hall for meetings that could fit 2,000 people, and with a stage and a room for an orchestra.

Apart from council meetings, the Town Hall was also a centre for social life in Rathmines, with concerts, dances and other events. The first public event was a performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1897, and in 1899 Guglielmo Marconi gave a demonstration of his new wireless.

Percy French, who wrote many well-known songs and who had his own theatrical company, gave many performances in the town hall and one of the first moving films made by Edison was shown there in 1902. The Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society also performed there. It was founded in 1913 and its first performance was The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan.

Dublin The town hall faces the junction of Leinster Road and Lower Rathmines Road, where Rathmines Library opened on 24 October 1913. It was designed by Frederick Hicks to fit in with the style of the Town Hall and was also intended to be an ‘ornament to the township’.

Dublin Rathmines was a parliamentary county constituency at Westminster from 1918 to 1922. It returned a Unionist candidate, Maurice Dockrell, as its MP in 1918. Dockrell was elected with an overall majority, and was the only Unionist elected in a geographical constituency outside Ulster.

Under the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930, the district of Rathmines and Rathgar became part of the City of Dublin, under the administration of Dublin Corporation. The UDC held its last meeting in the Town Hall in 1930 and today the building is the Rathmines College of Further Education.

The former Town Hall with its clock tower remains one of the most prominent landmarks in Rathmines, alongside Rathmines Library and Rathmines Church with its large copper dome. The town hall is now the premises of Rathmines College.

The former Town Hall with its clock tower remains one of the most prominent landmarks in Rathmines (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)