The Cathedral of the Assumption is the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

of the

Metropolitan Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of Ecclesiastical jurisdiction, jurisdiction in Christianity, Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical struc ...

of Cashel and 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 Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly The Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in mid-western Ireland, and the metropolis of the eponymous ecclesiastical province. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral of the Assump ...

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

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 ...

. It is the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

of the

Archbishop of Cashel and Emly In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

and stands on the site of earlier chapels, which were the only

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 ...

churches in Thurles. Following the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

, many archdiocesan assets, including the cathedral at the

Rock of Cashel The Rock of Cashel ( ), also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historical site located dramatically above a plain at Cashel, County Tipperary, Cashel, County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. History According t ...

were appropriated by the established church. James Butler II (1774–91), on being appointed by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, moved his residence and ''cathedra'' from

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

, favouring Thurles instead, where his successors continue to reign today.

History

Following the appropriation of church assets by the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

, the majority population who adhered to Roman Catholicism were obliged to conduct their services elsewhere. From the time of the English Reformation onwards, those archbishops appointed by

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

had to make their throne in whichever house in County Tipperary would hide them from the forces of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. That state of affairs continued until the late 18th century, when some of the harsher provisions of the

Penal Laws Penal law refers to criminal law. It may also refer to: * Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism * Penal laws (Ireland) In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...

were relaxed. In 1857, Archbishop

Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy ( ; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who represented Vermont in the United States Senate from 1975 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he also was the pr ...

revealed his plan to replace the 'Big Chapel', which had been used as the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in town, with, as Archbishop Bray explained, "a cathedral worthy of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly" Work commenced in 1865, and the impressive

Romanesque Revival architecture 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 ...

building, with its façade modelled on that of

Pisa Cathedral Pisa Cathedral (), officially the Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a medieval Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three s ...

, in Italy, was consecrated by Archbishop

Thomas Croke Thomas William Croke D.D. (28 May 1824 – 22 July 1902) was the second Catholic Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand (1870–74) and later Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in Ireland. He was important in the Irish nationalist movement, especially as a ...

on 21 June 1879. In the

, the historic cathedral on the Rock of Cashel was closed for worship in 1721. A new Georgian cathedral was completed in 1784,

St. Peter the Rock Cathedral, Cashel The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Patrick's Rock is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Cashel, County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Province of Dublin (Church of Ire ...

Architecture

The architect was J.J McCarthy; Barry McMullen was the main builder. J.C. Ashlin was responsible for the enclosing walls, railings and much of the finished work. The building has many architectural features, including an impressive

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 ...

, a baptistery, and its most important possession is a

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1533–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Most likely born in Genoa or Porlezza, Italy, his work was inspired by famous Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. He started in his car ...

, a pupil of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

. The tower holds a set of eight bells, cast by

John Murphy John Murphy may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Francis Murphy (1853–1921), American landscape painter * John Murphy (fiddler) (1875–1955), Irish fiddle player *John Cullen Murphy (1919–2004), American illustrator * John Murphy (play ...

of Dublin in 1867. Originally intended to be hung for

Change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

, they are now unringable and chimed by hammers. It is thought that the tower is too weak, and the bells are hung too high in the tower, to deal with the forces associated with full-circle ringing.Core.ac.uk. (2018). nlineAvailable at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145042134.pdf (Page One, Bottom paragraph of middle column until end.) ccessed 18 Aug. 2018

Gallery

References

External links

Archdiocesan WebsiteParish Website
{{Roman Catholic Cathedrals in Ireland Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly Romanesque Revival architecture in Ireland Romanesque Revival church buildings in the Republic of Ireland Thurles Roman Catholic churches in County Tipperary Roman Catholic churches completed in 1879 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links