| Saint Patrick's Cathedral | |
| Catholic Cathedral of St Patrick in Armagh | |
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Main front of the Cathedral
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Saint Patrick's Cathedral
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| Location | Armagh, County Armagh |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | armagharchdiocese.org |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 1904 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Thomas Duff - 1838 J. J. McCarthy - 1853 |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1840-1904 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 63.3m |
| Number of spires | 2 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Armagh |
| Province | Armagh |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Archbishop Seán Brady |
| Dean | John Connolly |
The present Catholic St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland was built to replace the medieval Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, which has been retained by the Church of Ireland since the Protestant Reformation.
It is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland. The Cathedral stands on a hill, as does its Anglican counterpart, and has twin spires.
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Around 1980 changes were made to Cesare Aureli high altars, Beakey's pulpit, the rood screen, McDorey's choir stalls, and the 1875 Telford organ. The Armagh archdiocese also removed its marble high altar, tow side altars with their respective reredoses, pulpit and rails.
Some, however, have found the re-ordering out of joint with the original building: "Neither the quality of the replacements nor the skill of the craftsmanship can disguise the total alienation of the new work from the spirit and meaning that was McCarthy's ecclesiological and architectural inspiration. In this setting, these modern intrusions appear dispassionate and irrelevant" (UAHS, 1992). Architectural historian Jeanne Sheehy wrote of the re-ordering as "the replacement ... of a fine late Gothic revival chancel with chunks of granite and a tabernacle that looks like a microwave".
The cathedral was further renovated in 2002-2003, replacing the tabernacle with the archbishop’s throne. The renovation works also involved the restoration of a number of the brass screens removed in 1980 which were welded together to form a screen in front of McCarthy's lady chapel reredos; the laying of modern tiling to the entire sanctuary area and the addition of a new Tabernacle in the Sacred Heart Chapel designed by Ashlin and Coleman in c.1904.
Mass is said every day in the cathedral. Weekday mass is held Mondays to Saturdays at 10:00am. On Saturday evenings, there is a Vigil Mass for Sunday at 7:00pm. On Sundays, Mass is celebrated at 9:00am, 11:00am & 5:30pm. On Holydays mass is celebrated at 9:00am and 11:00am. Confessions are usually heard before and after the Saturday evening vigil mass.
The organ of Armagh Cathedral was originally built by the renowned organ builder William Telford in 1875. In 1987, the organ was rebuilt, enlarged and tonally enhanced by the Irish Organ Company Ltd. who also provided a new terraced drawknob console. The rebuild was designed by the late John Holmes with the Cathedral Organist Baron George Minne as a consultant. All of the old pipework and casework was restored and retained. The organ now has elements of the English, French Cavaille-Coll and European style, the dominant sound being French. The organ currently has four manuals and 74 stops (including couplers and extensions).
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