Cathedral Church of St Mel | |
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![]() St Mel's Cathedral in 2019 | |
Location | Longford |
Country | Ireland |
Denomination | Catholic |
Tradition | Latin Church |
Website | longfordparish |
History | |
Status | Active |
Dedication | Mél of Ardagh |
Consecrated | 19 May 1893 |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Cathedral |
Style | Neoclassical |
Years built | 1840–1856 |
Administration | |
Province | Armagh |
Diocese | Ardagh and Clonmacnoise |
Parish | Longford |
The Cathedral Church of St Mel is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, located in the town of Longford in Ireland. Built between 1840 and 1856, with the belfry and portico as later additions, it has been considered the "flagship cathedral" of the Irish midlands region, [1] Longford's "landmark building" [1] [2] and "one of the finest Catholic churches in Ireland". [2] The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Mél (died 488), who came to Ireland with Saint Patrick and who was ordained bishop at Ardagh, County Longford.
On Christmas Day 2009, the cathedral was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of the morning. The restored cathedral re-opened in December 2014.
The cathedral is a Neoclassical stone building, at the north-east side of the town. Construction began in 1840 to the design of Joseph B. Keane, with the foundation stone (taken from the ruined cathedral in nearby Ardagh) laid by the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, William O'Higgins, on 19 May 1840. Work was then delayed by the arrival of the Great Famine, but the church was opened for worship by O'Higgins's successor, Rt. Rev. John Kilduff, on 29 September 1856. [3] The roof is supported by 24 limestone columns quarried at nearby Newtowncashel. [4] The 1860 belfry was designed by John Bourke, and the 1889 portico was designed by George Ashlin. The cathedral was finally consecrated on 19 May 1893. [3]
Harry Clarke studios designed the stained glass windows in the transepts. Ray Carroll designed the 1975 furnishings including "The Second Coming" tapestry behind the bishop's throne. Imogen Stuart designed "The Holy Ghost" above the baptismal font.
Just after 5:00 am on 25 December 2009 a fire began at the back of the building. [5] [6] Freezing weather disrupted attempts by firefighters to put out the blaze as their pipes were frozen solid, [1] causing the fire to go on for several hours. At one point flames were reported jumping 18 m into the air. [3] According to Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Colm O'Reilly, who had celebrated Midnight Mass in the building hours before the fire began, St Mel's Cathedral was completely destroyed by the fire, [7] describing the cathedral as "just a shell" and "burned out from end to end". [7] However, there were rescue efforts underway to try to save the campanile before it too was destroyed. [5] As a result of the fire, Longford parishioners held their Christmas Day masses in the local Temperance Hall. [5]
Initial investigations into the cause of the blaze were hampered by the precarious state of the building; the Gardaí conducted house-to-house inquiries in what a spokesman described as a "routine inquiry". [7] [8]
The estimated cost of the damage to the cathedral was approximately €30 million. Bishop O'Reilly committed to rebuilding it. [9] St Mel's Crosier, a relic dating from over a thousand years ago, was destroyed in the fire. [10]
Gardaí began examining the cathedral on 6 January 2010. [10] They determined two days later that it had not been arson. [11] A comprehensive investigation was undertaken by Gardaí and insurance forensic experts into the cause of the fire. It was established that the outbreak first arose in an old chimney flue at the rear of the cathedral and unfortunately broke out into the sacristy through old inspection hatches located behind fitted units. It was concluded that the fire was entirely accidental in origin and could not have been foreseen. [12]
Mass moved from the Temperance Hall to the sports hall and chapel of St Mel's College while the cathedral was being restored. [13] Bishop O'Reilly issued a letter to his 41 parishes: "I am now writing the kind of letter that I never dreamt I would need to write. I must do so, since I wear a ring that Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich placed on my finger as a reminder that for my time as Bishop I am bound to the Diocesan family in a bond that, like marriage, is for good times and bad. I write this letter to acknowledge that we must stay together in this time of sorrow and bewilderment. I also write to bring some solace to the many who are quite truly heart-broken." [14]
On 18 September 2011 the cathedral ruins were opened to the public for the first time since the devastating Christmas Day fire, with thousands of people showing up to view the cathedral. [15] [16] [17]
In 2012 Fine Gael TD James Bannon asked Bishop Colm O'Reilly to reconsider selecting an Italian organ maker to rebuild the organ in the cathedral. [18]
A new altar was consecrated in March 2014, and the cathedral re-opened on Christmas Eve 2014. [19] The restoration project cost €30 million. [20] Among the features of the restored cathedral are a Carrara marble altar sculpted by Tom Glendon, a silver tabernacle created by Imogen Stuart and Vicki Donovan, a pipe organ consisting of 2,307 pipes, built by Fratelli Ruffatti, and stained glass windows designed by Kim en Joong, a Dominican priest. [20]
A silhouette image of St Mel's Cathedral features on the crest of League of Ireland club Longford Town. The cathedral is also depicted on the crest of all Co Longford GAA teams.
Longford is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of Ireland's N4 and N5 National Primary Route roads, which means that traffic travelling between Dublin and County Mayo, or north County Roscommon passes around the town. Longford railway station, on the Dublin-Sligo line, is used heavily by commuters.
Events from the year 1893 in Ireland.
James Bannon is a former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Longford–Westmeath constituency from 2007 to 2016. He was a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 2002 to 2007.
Charles (Cahal) Brendan Cardinal Daly KGCHS was an Irish philosopher, theologian, writer and international speaker and, in later years, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
Ó Fearghail is a family name of the Irish nobility from County Longford who were historically the Princes of Annaly. The patronym means "descendant of Fearghail", whose name means "man of valour". Fearghail was a great-grandson of Angaile, the 10th-century King of Fortúatha who conquered and gave his name to Annaly, and his Ó Fearghail descendants were the Princes of Annaly for 6 centuries. Angaile was chief of the Conmhaícne Angaile. The lineage of Fearghail also provided chiefs of the Dál Messin Corb and its derivative Uí Garrchon. The surname became Farrell, and it was Cardinal Kevin Farrell who was made a Prince of the Church.
Ardagh is a village in County Longford, Ireland. Ardagh is located towards the south of County Longford, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of Longford town, located off the N4 road. Originally a site of pre-Christian worship, Ardagh became a site of Christian settlement with the arrival of Saint Patrick sometime between 434 and 435. The bulk of the village was laid-out in the mid-19th century.
Mél of Ardagh, also written Mel or Moel, was a 5th-century saint in Ireland who was a nephew of Saint Patrick. He was the son of Conis and Patrick's sister, Darerca. Saint Darerca was known as the "mother of saints" because most of her children entered religious life, many were later recognized as saints, and several of her sons became bishops.
The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland.
The Bishop of Ardagh was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the village of Ardagh, County Longford in the Republic of Ireland. It was used by the Roman Catholic Church until 1756, and intermittently by the Church of Ireland until 1839.
The United Dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh is a diocese of the Church of Ireland located in central Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh.
St Mel's College is an all-boys secondary school in Longford, Ireland.
Colm O'Reilly is an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise from 1983 to 2013.
Ann Lovett was a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Granard, County Longford, Ireland who died giving birth beside a grotto on 31 January 1984. Her baby son died at the same time and the story of her death played a huge part in a seminal national debate on women giving birth outside marriage.
Dr Bartholomew Woodlock was a Roman Catholic bishop, philosopher and educator. He established the Catholic University School, Dublin, and founded the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Ireland. He was the 2nd Rector of the Catholic University of Ireland, now University College Dublin, after Cardinal John Henry Newman.
The Dean of Elphin and Ardagh is based in St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo in the Diocese of Elphin and Ardagh within the united bishopric of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh of the Church of Ireland. The dioceses of Elphin and Ardagh were merged in 1841. The original cathedral of Ardagh, Co Longford had been destroyed by military action in 1496 and the original diocesan cathedral of Saint Mary’s, Elphin, Co Roscommon was damaged by a storm in 1957 and abandoned in 1961.
The Cathedral of Saint Mell is the name given to the ruins of a small, Early Medieval church in the village of Ardagh, County Longford in Ireland, not to be confused with St Mel's Cathedral in the town of Longford. Church reform in the 12th century made Saint Mel's Cathedral in Ardagh the centre of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, demonstrating the importance of the site as a Cathedral and bishopric see. Although known as Saint Mel's Cathedral, the ruined church dates from three centuries after the saint's death, and predates the introduction of a diocesan system in Ireland.
Francis Duffy is an Irish clergyman who was appointed Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise on 17 July 2013. On 10 November 2021 Bishop Duffy was announced as Archbishop elect of the Archdiocese of Tuam and subsequently installed on 9 January 2022.
An Insular crozier is a type of processional bishop's staff (crozier) produced in Ireland and Scotland between c. 800 and 1200. Such items can be distinguished from mainland European types by their curved and open crooks, and drop. By the end of the 12th century, production of Irish croziers had largely ended, but examples continued to be reworked and added to throughout the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Although many of the croziers are associated with 5th- and 6th-century saints, the objects were not made until long after the saints had died. A majority originate from around the 9th century, and were often used as embellishment between the 11th and 13th centuries.
William O'Higgins (1794-1853), was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and professor, who served as Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, from 1829 until his death in 1853.
St. Mel's Crozier was a fully intact 10th or 11th century Insular crozier discovered in the mid-19th century on the grounds of an early medieval church in Ardagh, County Longford. It consisted of a wooden core lined with metal sheet tubing decorated with silver, coral and glass, as well as three knopes and a ring towards its base. The drop plate was formed by a separately formed wood block, and added to in the 12th century with a figure of a cleric or bishop wearing a mitre and holding a staff.