The Chalice of Crossdrum is a lost 18th century

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

vessel from

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 ...

Physical description

The

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

itself is described as,

History

The Chalice of Crossdrum was found in 1750 in Crossdrum, near

Oldcastle, County Meath Oldcastle () is a town in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the northwest of the county near the border with County Cavan, Cavan, approximately 13 miles (21 km) from Kells, County Meath, Kells. The R154 road, R15 ...

, Ireland. The chalice was found in a cave, beside a priest's skeleton, along with other liturgical items, including a

chasuble The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern ...

, an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

-stone, a

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

, and candlesticks. Given its location, scene of discovery, and relative dates of the artifacts, scholars generally concur that the discovered priest was likely a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

who covertly provided the

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...

to local Catholics during the

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

ian period, when such activities were proscribed by the state. The man who made the discovery, Hugh Reilly, handed the discovery over to his brother, the Rev. Bartholomew Reilly, a parish priest in Co. Meath. The priest's skeleton was sacramentally buried, and the location of the other discovered items remains unknown. The chalice and

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a mass). It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Wes ...

were subsequently passed from Rev. Bartholomew Reilly to Fr. Owen Reilly, the former's uncle, on the event of his death in 1782. Fr. Owen Reilly died in 1784. Debate surrounds the location of the chalice after Fr. Owen Reilly's ownership. The chalice resurfaced in 1832, under the possession of Rev. George McDermot, parish priest of Oldcastle. The chalice was kept in the parish, coming under the ownership of Father George Leonard, the successor parish priest. It was at this time that the chalice took on a mythical element, supposedly granting the keeper longevity of life. Fr. Leonard died in 1877, at the age of 85. The chalice then passed to Leonard's nephew, Fr. Thomas Fagan, parish priest of Rathconnell,

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. Fr. Fagan died in 1886, and the chalice passed to Fr. Fagan's nephew, the Very Rev. Thomas Gaffney in

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont *Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The ...

. Gaffney picked up the chalice in Ireland, after a conflict of ownership that required local diocesan intervention. Since his acquisition of the chalice, Fr. Gaffney used the vessel in every celebration of the Feast of St Patrick, until his death in 1906. Fr. Gaffney, in his will, left the chalice in the hands of Fr. James A. Taaffe, S.J., of

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

in New York. Since Fr. Taaffe's ownership, the location of the chalice remains unconfirmed, some speculating it remains in the hands of the aforementioned

university, among Taaffe's descendants in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, Staten Island, or elsewhere.

References

{{Portal bar, Catholicism, Ireland, History Chalices Archaeology of Ireland Religion in County Meath