The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas (

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

: ''Ard-Eaglais Mhaighdean na Deastógála agus Naomh Nioclás''), commonly known as Galway Cathedral, is a

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 ...

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 ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

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 ...

. Construction began in 1958 on the site of the old city prison. It was completed in 1965, lending it the designation of being "the last great stone cathedral to be built in Europe". It was dedicated, jointly, to Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and to

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya Province, Turkey) dur ...

History

A parish chapel was built around 1750 on Middle Street at Lower Abbeygate Street. In 1821 the chapel was replaced with a limestone church built in the Gothic style, and dedicated to St. Patrick. When the Diocese of Galway was established in 1831, St. Patrick's became the

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...

. After the cathedral opened in 1965, St. Patrick's was deconsecrated.

Opening of the Cathedral

The Galway Cathedral was opened on 15 August 1965. President

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

lit the sanctuary candle and Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston delivered a sermon 'Why Build a Cathedral?'. Bishop Michael Browne, Bishop of Galway, was accompanied on the altar by four Archbishops.

Architecture

The architect of the cathedral was John J. Robinson who had previously designed many churches in Dublin and around the country. The architecture of the cathedral draws on many influences. The

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

and pillars reflect a

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

. Other features, including the

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

s and

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s, echo the broad tradition of

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrative ...

. The cathedral dome, at a height of 44.2 metres (145 ft), is a prominent landmark on the city skyline. Constructed nearly entirely of local limestone, the cathedral is considered to be last stone public building in Ireland. Although many were of the opinion that a 1950s style cathedral should be built, the client wanted a traditional style building. During a controversial interview on Telefís Éireann's '' The Late Late Show'' in 1966,

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

student Brian Trevaskis referred to the building as a "ghastly monstrosity". More recently, it was described in an ''Irish Times'' article concerning "ugly" Irish buildings as a "squatting Frankenstein's monster" and "a monument to the hubris of its soft-handed sponsors".

Liturgy

Mass is celebrated every day in the cathedral. There is a Saturday evening Vigil mass at 6pm, and Sunday masses at 9am (in

Gaeilge Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

), 10:30am, 12:30pm and 6pm. On weekdays and holy days, mass is celebrated at 11am and 6pm.

Music

Choir

The cathedral has been home to an adult

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

since the building was dedicated, the role of which is to provide the music at all major ceremonies and services as well as at the regular Sunday 10.30 am Mass. The choir's repertoire covers music from the 16th to the 21st centuries, as well as

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...

and Irish traditional music.

Organs

The cathedral

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

was originally built by the Liverpool firm of Rushworth & Dreaper in 1966; it was renovated and greatly expanded by Irish organ-builder Trevor Crowe between 2006 and 2007. It has three manuals and 59 speaking stops, and is used regularly during services as well as in the annual series of summer concerts. The cathedral also has a smaller portable instrument, with one manual and four stops. It is used in smaller-scale liturgy in the cathedral's side chapels, as well as in a continuo role in concerts.Galway Cathedral webpage
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The Gallery Organ stoplist since 2007

Manual compass: 61 notes
Pedal compass: 32 notes
Key-action: electro-pneumatic
Stop-action: electric
16 general combinations, with 96 levels of memory
8 combinations to each division, with 16 levels of memory
Sequencer with 999 memory slots

The Choir Organ stoplist since 2006

Manual compass: 56 notes
Key- and stop-action: mechanical

Gallery

File:Galwaycathedralinterior2.jpg, The sanctuary File:Galway Cathedral (6254030278).jpg, The sanctuary from transept File:Galway Cathedral (6254031600).jpg, Nave from the sanctuary File:Galway Cathedral (7061207855).jpg, Rear nave and organ loft File:Galway Cathedral (7061216017).jpg, Sculpture and stained glass windows File:Galway Cathedral (7061228289).jpg, Dome and pendatives above the crossing File:Galway Cathedral (6254033618).jpg, High Altar and mosaic File:Galway Cathedral (6915116802).jpg, nave

Burials

* Michael Browne *

Eamonn Casey Eamonn Casey (24 April 1927 – 13 March 2017) was an Irish Catholic priest who served as bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh in Ireland from 1976 to 1992. His resignation in 1992, after it was revealed he had had an affair with an American woman ...

* James McLoughlin *

Thomas O'Dea Thomas O'Dea, Bishop of Clonfert and Bishop of Galway (7 January 1858 – 9 April 1923) was born in Carron, Kilfenora, County Clare, and educated in Ennis and Maynooth. He was ordained on 25 June 1882 for the Diocese of Galway. He was a membe ...

* Thomas O'Doherty

References

External links

Galway Cathedral website

Galway Cathedral Recitals website
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Roman Catholic churches in Galway (city) Churches in County Galway Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Roman Catholic churches completed in 1965 Tourist attractions in Galway (city) 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland 20th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland