Ballaghaderreen Cathedral (''Full title'': The Cathedral Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nathy) is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

church of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Achonry The Diocese of Achonry () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the western part of Ireland. It is one of the five suffragan sees of the Archdiocese of Tuam.

. Located in

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is in the north-west of the county, near the borders with counties Mayo and Sligo, just off the N5 road. The population was 2,387 in the 2 ...

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, the cathedral was commissioned in 1855. The cathedral, commissioned to be built by Bishop Patrick Durcan in the Gothic style, was begun in 1855 and completed in 1860. Durcan had come to the small diocese several years earlier and wanted a new Cathedral to meets the needs of the people of Ballaghaderreen. This initial part of the Cathedral consisted of an "eight-bay nave with clerestory and lean-to side aisles, a four-stage tower with spire to west, square-ended chancel to east with sacristy and mortuary chapel to north and south." The new Cathedral was consecrated and opened in November 1860. The bell tower of 59.6 metres with a needle and a carillon of bells and new sacristy were all added in 1912 by the project architect, William H. Byrne Irish. Because of its height, the body of the church in grey limestone seems small, but is long, wide and high. The interior has a single nave. South of the west door is the baptismal font dating from around 1870.

21st century renovation

In August 2017 it was announced that the cathedral would close for six months to allow essential construction work on the listed building begin including repairs to the roof, pointing of stone and lighting as well as a heating upgrade. Weekday and Sunday Masses would be held in the chapel of St. Nathy's College and funerals in other churches in the parish.

References

Bibliography

* Peter Galloway, The Cathedrals of Ireland, The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, 1992 {{Roman Catholic Cathedrals in Ireland Roman Catholic churches in County Roscommon Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic Diocese of Achonry Roman Catholic churches completed in 1860 Gothic Revival church buildings in the Republic of Ireland Matthew Ellison Hadfield buildings 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland Ballaghaderreen