The Honan Chapel (, formally Saint Finbarr's Collegiate Chapel and The Honan Hostel Chapel) is a small Catholic church built in the Hiberno-
Romanesque revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
style on the grounds of
University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...
, Ireland. Designed in 1914, the building was completed in 1916 and furnished by 1917. Its architecture and fittings are representative of the
Celtic Revival
The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...
movement and evoke the
Insular art
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the sub-Roman Britain, post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin language, Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland ...
style prevalent in Ireland and Britain between the 7th and 12th centuries.
Its construction was initiated and supervised by the Dublin solicitor John O'Connell, a leading member of the Celtic Revival and
Arts and Crafts
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
movements. He was funded by Isabella Honan (18611913), the last member of a wealthy
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
family, who made a significant donation towards the construction of the chapel. O'Connell oversaw both the design and the commissioning of its building and furnishings, guiding the architect James F. McMullen, the builders John Sisk and Sons, and the numerous craftsmen and artists involved in its artwork.
The Honan Chapel is known for its interior which is designed and fitted in a traditional Irish style, but with an appreciation of contemporary trends in international art. Its furnishings include a mosaic flooring, altar plate, metalwork and enamels, liturgical textiles and sanctuary furnishings, and especially its nineteen
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
windows. Of these, fifteen depict Irish saints, the remainder show
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
,
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
Harry Clarke
Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement.
His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...
Ethel Rhind
Ethel Rhind (1 December 1877 – 6 March 1952) was an Irish stained-glass and mosaic artist, who was associated with An Túr Gloine.
Life and education
Rhind was born on 1 December 1877 in Arrah, Bihar, India. Her father was Robert Hunter Rhind ...
of ''
An Túr Gloine
An Túr Gloine (; Irish for "The Glass Tower") was a cooperative studio for stained glass and '' opus sectile'' artists from 1903 until 1944, based in Dublin, Ireland.
History
An Túr Gloine was conceived of in late 1901 and established Januar ...
'' cooperative studio. In 1986, the sculptor
Imogen Stuart
Imogen Stuart (née Werner; 1927 – 24 March 2024) was a German-Irish sculptor, influenced by 19th-century Expressionism and early Irish Christian art. She mainly produced wood and stone for settings for churches but also created many secular ...
was commissioned to oversee the installation of a new altar and other carvings, furnishings and fittings.
Background and construction
Population growth
Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...
and
urbanisation
Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...
in early 20th-century Ireland led to the development of a number of suburbs around
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
, which necessitated the building of churches to serve these new areas; the Honan Chapel was the first church to be built in Cork in the new century. Its genesis was rooted in a longstanding educational disagreement between the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
and Catholic hierarchies. Queen's College Cork (today known as
University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...
, or UCC) was incorporated in 1845 as part of a nationwide series of new universities known as the Queen's Colleges. Although the Colleges were intended to be non-denominational, the lack of provision for any religious instruction made them unacceptable to the Irish Catholic bishops, who strongly discouraged Catholics from attending, and in 1851 founded the
Catholic University of Ireland
The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ) was a private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its assoc ...
.
In 1911, the Queen's Colleges ceased as legal entities. The
Irish Universities Act 1908
The Royal University of Ireland was a university in Ireland that existed from 1879 to 1909. It was founded in accordance with the University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the ...
forbade government funding for any "church, chapel, or other place of religious worship or observance"; thus any centre for Catholic students would have to be built with private funding.
Isabella (Belle) Honan was the heir to the fortune of a wealthy Catholic family of butter merchants. When Honan died in 1913, she left £40,000 (equivalent to £ in 2019) to the city of Cork, including £10,000 which her executor, a Dublin solicitor John O'Connell, was instructed to use to establish a centre of worship for Catholic students in UCC, along with other charitable and educational purposes. These monies became known as the Honan Fund.
O'Connell used part of the funds to provide scholarships for Catholic students at UCC and acquired the site of St. Anthony's Hall (also known as Berkeley Hall) from the
Franciscan order
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
to develop an accommodation block for male Catholic students known as the Honan Hostel.
The Honan Chapel was one of the first modern Irish churches conceived with a thematic design not directed by the clergy. O'Connell entered the priesthood in 1929, after the death of his wife. He was an active member of the Celtic Revival movement, a member of both the Irish Arts and Crafts Committees and the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
, a fellow of the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is an Irish learned society whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquities, langua ...