Franz Mayer & Co.

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Franz Mayer and Co.

Stained Glass Company

Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich who are responsible for stained glass in at least nine of Irelands Cathedral churches (Derry, Thurles, Letterkenny, Ballaghaderreen, Waterford, Ballina, Enniscorthy, Carlow, and Cobh) is an interesting firm. The site for St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin, New Zealand has this to say about the firm:

Franz Mayer and Co., Munich. This firm has been working in stained glass from 1848 to the present day. According to Konrad Mayer (fourth generation), Franz Mayer had a school for crippled children. When their schooling finished about the age of fifteen, there were not job opportunities for these children. Franz Mayer founded his Art Studios to provide work for these handicapped children. It is said that at times as many as a hundred young people worked on church furnishings in his studios.

Regarding the windows in St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Dunedin, New Zealand the Franz Mayer and Co. firm state that the stained glass in the fourteen windows is genuine mouth-blown antic glass produced in Bavaria. The colouring of the glass is made by different metal oxides. After the artist has drawn his subject it is transferred on to pieces of glass to match the drawing in detail and colour. There can be as many as four to five hundred pieces in each window. The glass is put into a furnace and the colours thoroughly burnt in. This process results in the colour not deteriorating, and they grow more mellow and beautiful with the lapse of time

1847 Joseph Gabriel Mayer (1808 - 1883) founded the “Institute for Christian Art“. He visualized a company that was “…a combination of fine arts, architecture, sculpture and painting…“to revitalize the medieval building trades. Around 1860 a stained glass department was created. In 1865 the first overseas branch was opened in London. In 1882 the company was awarded the status of “Royal Bavarian Art

Establishment “by King Ludwig II. Following this, the studio moved into a rich and active period with over 500 employees and world-wide business connections. This was achieved during the management of Franz Borgias Mayer (1848 - 1926) who was the founder’s son. In 1888 a new branch in New York City was opened bringing the company to full international status and in 1892, Pope Leo XIII named the company a “Pontifical Institute of Christian Art“.

After the 1st World War, Franz Borgias Mayer’s sons, Anton (1886 - 1967), Karl (1889 - 1970) and Adalbert (1894 - 1987) took over the management. In 1925, the ecclesiastical sculpture department was dropped from the business and a mosaic department took its place. The company transformed into an artist’s studio for stained glass and mosaic. From that point on, many freelance artists and architects began to use the services of the studio.

During the post war years, mosaic was brought to new heights with regards to architectural art due to intensive artistic studies and new technical developments.

From the beginning, restoration and reconstruction of historic stained glass and mosaics were important and new experiences in these fields have, over generations, assisted in realising these sorts of projects. The complicated technique of thermo-insulated glass systems was studied thoroughly in the Mayer Studio to preserve medieval and stained glass from previous decades.

This technique was used for the first time in 1952 for a large scale restoration project for the Munich Frauenkirche, the Catholic Cathedral. In the early 1980ies the “Floatglass Painting” department was created. Today the company is managed by Gabriel Mayer (*1938) and by his son Michael C. Mayer (*1967), who is the 5th generation. More then 100 Cathedrals got our Stained Glass and Mosaics – the most prominent is St. Peter's Basilica in Rome

Franz Mayer Inc. is still flourishing in Munich and has branched out to more than glass.

  • Mayer Workshop [1]
  • Interior [2]

Contents

[edit] Works in Ireland

[edit] Catholic Cathedrals

  • Letterkenny Cathedral;
  • Derry Cathedral;
  • Monaghan Cathedral
  • Ballaghaderreen Cathedral [6];
  • Thurles Cathedral;
  • Enniscorthy Cathedral

[edit] Church of Ireland Cathedrals

Christs Church Catedral, Lisburn, County Antrim

[edit] Catholic Churches

  • Whitehouse, C. Antrim;
  • Church of the Immaculate Conception, Clonakilty, Co Cork;
  • Ballybofey, Co Donegal;
  • St. Patrick’s Killygordan, Co. Donegal ;
  • Castlewellan, Co. Down;
  • Downpatrick, Co. Down;
  • St. Ann’s Dawson St., Dublin;
  • Donnybrook, Dublin;
  • St. Patrick’s Monkstown, Co. Dublin
  • Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh
  • St. Teresa’s, Laban, Ardrahan, Co. Galway;
  • St. Mary’s Galway;
  • Kintullagh, Co. Galway;
  • Saints Peter and Paul, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare;
  • Our Lady and St. David, Naas, Co. Kildare;
  • Knock, Co. Laois;
  • Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Ballingarry, Co Limerick;
  • SS Patrick and Brigid, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick
  • St. Columb’s Derry;
  • The Assumption, Magherafelt, Co. Derry;
  • St. Brigid’s, Ardagh, Co. Longford;
  • Church of Mary Immaculate, Collon, Co. Louth;
  • Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Tenure, Castlebellingham, Co Louth;
  • St. Mary’s Drogheda, Co. Louth;
  • St. Peter’s Drogheda, Co. Louth
  • Dundalk, Co. Louth;
  • Castlebar, Co. Mayo;
  • St. Patrick’s, Trim, Co. Meath;
  • St. Patrick’s, Ballybay, Co. Monaghan;
  • Clones, Co. Monaghan;
  • St. Brigid’s, Clara, Co. Offaly;
  • Our Lady of the Assumption, Collooney, Co. Sligo;
  • Carrick-on-suir, Co. Tipperary;
  • St. Ailbe’s, Emly, Co. Tipperary;
  • St. Mary of the Rosary, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary;
  • Solohead, Limerick Junction, Co. Tipperary;
  • St. Cronan’s, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary;
  • Sacred Heart, Templemore, Co. Tipperary;
  • St. Michael’s, Tipperary;
  • Omagh, Co. Tyrone;
  • Strabane, Co. Tyrone;
  • Holy Cross, Tramore, Co. Waterford;
  • St. Mary’s Athlone, Co. Westmeath;
  • New Ross, Wexford;
  • St. Joseph, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow;
  • St. Mary’s and St. Michael’s, Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow.

[edit] Church of Ireland Churches

[edit] Works outside of Ireland

[edit] External links

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