Ireland's Churches - Galway

Galway

Galway, being our first city in Ireland, was also our introduction to Ireland's churches. The majority of people in the Republic of Ireland (as differentiated from Northern Ireland) are Catholic. Thus most of the churches or cathedrals are Catholic. The second most popular denomination is Anglican. We found that, as governments changed hands over the centuries, so did the "ownership" of churches. So many of them share a rich history in an ecumenical sense.

This is St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church, which is Anglican.

The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland in continuous use as a place of worship. Founded in 1320, this Church of Ireland (Anglican) church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of seafarers.

A view of the clock tower from the street.

An example of the Medieval influence in the architecture.

There are gargoyles below the turrets.

This is to help me remember all the different churches we are soon to see.

Some of the gargoyles' heads remain, others have been removed.

Beautiful stained-glass windows here and in other parts of the building.

A hand-carved celtic cross is a monument to a local hero.

More information can be found by following this link: http://www.stnicholas.ie/history

In contrast to the medieval period of St. Nicholas Collegiate Church, Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas Catholic Church was completed in 1965. It was actually built to look old so that it would complement the older architecture in Galway.

This cathedral was dedicated to Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and to St. Nicholas. It was designed by John J. Robinson in 1957 and made from black marble from Galway, a local stone that can be polished beautifully. In the east transept above the altar in St. Nicholas' chapel there are outstanding early 17C carved stone plaques depicting the Trinity around the Virgin Mary. These had been saved from St. Nicholas' Church dating back to the times of Cromwell.

Sure looks old, doesn't it?

Looking up into the dome from inside the church.

A beautiful rose window above the organ pipes.

All the floors are laid with Irish marble, the green comes from Connemara Region.

There is much beauty in its simplicity.

A little more information can be found at this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway_Cathedral

We visited or attended many churches over a span of fourteen days. I have divided them into three separate blogposts to make it easier to look through them. I do hope you enjoy this virtual touring of some of the churches of Ireland.