| St Eunan's Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| Cathedral of St Eunan and St Columba | |
 | |
  St Eunan's Cathedral Location in Ireland | |
| 54°57′01″N7°44′24″W / 54.95028°N 7.74000°W /54.95028; -7.74000 | |
| Location | Ard Choluim,Letterkenny,County Donegal |
| Country | Ireland |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Founder | Cardinal Patrick O'Donnell |
| Consecrated | 16 June 1901 |
| Cult(s) present | Adomnán,Columba |
| Events | 1985: Interior renovation 1988:Opening ofAdoration Chapel 2001: Exterior cleaning ofsandstone 2001:Centenary |
| Past bishop(s) | William MacNeely Anthony McFeely Séamus Hegarty Philip Boyce |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | William Hague T. F. McNamara |
| Architectural type | Cathedral |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1890–1900 |
| Groundbreaking | 1888 |
| Completed | 1900 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of spires | 1 |
| Materials | Whitesandstone |
| Bells | 12 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Armagh |
| Diocese | Raphoe |
| Parish | Conwal and Leck |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | Alan McGuckian |
| Prebendary | Kevin Gillespie |
| Curate(s) | The Reverend Philip Kemmy The Reverend Damien Nejad |
| Laity | |
| Organist | (Fr) Michael Carney |
St Eunan's Cathedral (/ˈjuːnən/YOO-nən), or theCathedral of St Eunan and St Columba as it is also known, is acathedral in the parish ofConwal and Leck, part of theDiocese of Raphoe. Built between the years of 1890 and 1900, the cathedral is found inLetterkenny,County Donegal inIreland. There are two cathedrals in the county; an oldercathedral of the same name is found in the town ofRaphoe, and since theReformation, has been used by theChurch of Ireland.
The cathedral was commissioned byCardinal O'Donnell - then Bishop of Raphoe - and who, in 1888 aged 32, became the youngest bishop in the world at that time.[1] The cathedral, located on Castle Street oppositeConwal Parish Church in the town, has a spire height of 73m/240ft and celebrated itscentenary in 2001.
The cathedral is named for the SaintsAdamnán andColumba; it opened on 16 June 1901 and is built inVictorianneo-Gothic style on a site overlooking the town. It was designed byWilliam Hague, the well known Dublin architect and protégé ofPugin, and following Hague's death by his partnerT. F. McNamara[2] and was built at the cost of £300,000[3](around £50 million in today's money[4]), making it the most expensive church in Ireland. St Eunan's Cathedral has aspire with a height of 240 feet. Whitesandstone fromMountcharles was used in the construction. It was shipped along the coast and up theSwilly. Townspeople carried bucketloads of the sandstone to the construction site piece by piece. The cathedral is furnished inoak, with amarblepulpit by Pearse Brothers of Dublin. The pulpit depictsstatues ofthe Four Masters and theFour Evangelists.[5]
The stained glass windows that illuminate thesanctuary and theLady Chapel are by the Mayer firm ofMunich. They depict thirteen scenes from the life of Jesus.[6]
The ceilings are the work of Amici ofRome. The Great Arch illustrates the lives ofSt Eunan (better known as Adomnán or, locally, Adhamhnáin) andSt Columba. Thesanctuary lamp is made of solid silver and weighs over 1500 ounces.Willie Pearse, who took part in theEaster Rising, created some of the sculptures found within.[7]
There are 12 bells in the Cathedral bell chamber. They carry the names of the saints of Tír Conail -Dallan,Conal andFiacre,Adomnán,Baithen and Barron, Nelis and Mura, Fionán and Davog, Cartha and Caitríona, Taobhóg, Cróna and Ríanach,Ernan and Asica andColumba. The 12th bell weighs over 2 tons 5 cwts. After the cathedral was opened the organist played "O'Donnell Abu", "St Patrick's Day", "The Last Rose of Summer", "The Wearing of the Green" and "The Bells of Shandon".[8]
In 1985, the cathedral was renovated and remodelled to better conform to the liturgical requirements of theSecond Vatican Council. Care was taken to preserve the style and materials of the original altar in the new altar table and chair. The original altar-piece, an Irish carving ofLeonardo'sThe Last Supper, is still present in the cathedral and has been incorporated into the new altar.
The sandstone exterior of the cathedral was cleaned in July 2001. The stone was then repaired and pointed with a special mortar of lime and sand. Krystol Hydrostop was finally applied to the exterior.[9]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Monsignor Gillespie, with Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian, agreed to celebrate weekday morning Mass for the nation onRTÉ Television.[10]
As of August 2023, St Eunan's Cathedral is served by three full-time priests -The Very Reverend Monsignor Kevin Gillespie (Administrator), The Reverend Kizito Kalameera (curate) and The Reverend Damien Nejad (curate).Bishop of RaphoeMost Reverend Alan McGuckian SJ, along with other clergy and retired clergy living in Letterkenny, also help the cathedral parish when required.[11] The Reverend Damien Nejad, of Hiberno-Iranian origin, has a particularly interesting background as he was the first diocesan priest ordained in Ireland to have a Persian family; The Reverend Nejad was born to an Iranian Muslim father and a Catholic mother, originally fromAnnagry, in, and later grew up in,Glasgow and was baptised at his own request when he was six.[12]
TheBlessed Sacrament Chapel of Adoration or theAdoration Chapel (as it is more commonly known) is found on the grounds of the adjacentLoreto Convent. Bishop of RaphoeSéamus Hegarty officially opened it on 4 December 1988. This single-room chapel is a reconstructed building based on the site of an old school set up by theLoreto Sisters. It is not definitively known when the original building was constructed; however, during reconstruction work in 1988, a slate bearing a mason's mark from the year 1850 was discovered. Barry Feely fromCounty Roscommon designed the chapel's granite altar; this is situated in front of a stained glass window which displays the "Virgin of the Sign" icon.[13]
The Adoration Chapel is open from 1 pm on a Sunday afternoon until 8.30 pm Friday evening. The chapel is located in the grounds of the Loreto Convent and College, which is located adjacent to the cathedral.
Devotions are held in the cathedral on the Sundays of May and October at 7.00pm.
The surroundingCathedral Quarter (Irish:Ceathrú na hArdeaglaise),[14] the adjacentCathedral Square (Irish:Cearnóg na hArdeaglaise) andCathedral Road (Irish:Bóthar na hArdeaglaise) are named after the building.
Letterkenny itself is often referred to as "The Cathedral Town".[15]
