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Holy Trinity Church, Cork
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Holy Trinity Church, Cork
Holy Trinity Church, also known as Father Mathew Memorial Church, is a Roman Catholic Gothic Revival church and friary on Fr. Mathew Quay, on the bank of the River Lee in Cork. It belongs to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and is the only church dedicated to Father Theobald Mathew.
The building's listing in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes it as a "Regency Gothic-style church with Gothic-Revival portico", and it is "one of the first large churches in the south of Ireland to be built in this style." Construction of the church began in the early 1830s but stalled shortly before the Great Famine. It would only be completed in 1890, in time for the centenary of the birth of Fr. Mathew. The church features several noteworthy stained glass windows, including three by Harry Clarke's studio and a large memorial to Daniel O'Connell.
The Capuchin Order arrived in Cork in 1637, thirteen years after the first Capuchin Community in Ireland was established in Dublin. The Cork friary was destroyed at some point in the seventeenth century. Father Bartholomew Mortell subsequently opened a hospice in the city. Most Catholics, including the Capuchins, were expelled from Cork by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin in 1644, but the friary was reopened five years later, in 1649. This establishment was likely located on the same site as the later South Friary, on Blackamoor Lane, in what is now Cork's South Parish. The South Friary was built in 1771 by the Capuchin preacher Father Arthur O'Leary. O'Leary described the church as "remarkable for its dwarfish dimensions, its utter want of architectural grace, and its perfect seclusion from the public gaze".
The Capuchin and temperance reformer Theobald Mathew arrived in Cork in 1814 and became an active social crusader, working to improve the conditions of the city's poor. Father Mathew resolved to replace the cramped South Friary with a new church, and a committee was established to oversee the planning. A competition was held in 1825, and the plan by architect George Richard Pain — who also designed Blackrock Castle and the courthouse on Washington Street — was chosen. Pain, a former apprentice of the architect John Nash, was awarded the contract for £50.
The city authorities offered a site on Sullivan's Quay, facing across the River Lee's south channel to the Grand Parade. For reasons that are uncertain, Mathew declined and opted for a site on Charlotte Quay, now Fr. Mathew Quay. This required the marshy ground on Morrison's Island to be drained and a foundation be built to bear the church's weight. The preparation of the site cost almost £1,600. It was estimated that the church would cost £10,000 to build, half of which was raised by the citizens of Cork. The simultaneous construction of two other churches — St. Patrick's on the Lower Glanmire Road, by Pain and his brother James Pain, and the Dominican St. Mary's on Pope's Quay by Thomas and Kearns Deane — meant that the architects were competing for funds at a time when the city was stricken by a cholera outbreak. A further £4,500 was provided by Mathew himself.
The foundation stone was laid on 10 October 1832, Mathew's birthday. A dispute over costs led to Mathew paying Pain a further £300. Pain died in 1838, and supervision of the construction was taken over by Thomas Coakley. The cost of the church had spiralled to £14,000 by 1840. With the builder, a Mr Anthony, unable to meet his costs, work stalled in 1841. Mathew refused the suggestions of many to use subscriptions from the temperance movement to fund his church.
Following the Great Famine, a public meeting in Cork agreed to continue work on Holy Trinity. Thomas Deane, whose entry in the original competition had failed, was chosen to complete the church without its portico and spire. William Atkins was given responsibility for the church's interior. The church finally opened on 10 October 1850. A Pontifical High Mass was held, with admission by ticket, and celebrated by the bishops of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, and Ossory. Nevertheless, the interior was only completed ten years after Mathew's death, about 1866, and the portico remained unfinished. The sculptor John Hogan produced two carved heads flanking the main door.
Several suggestions were made in the following two decades to complete the façade of Holy Trinity. A proposal by George Ashlin was approved in 1877 which would have differed drastically from Pain's original plans, but this was not carried out. Fr. Paul Neary, the Capuchin provincial superior in Ireland, organised celebrations for the centenary of Fr. Mathew's birth, and organised a public meeting to stimulate progress on the church. It was decided to complete the church to Pain's design. A campaign was organised to ensure the funds were in place for work to be completed.
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Holy Trinity Church, Cork
Holy Trinity Church, also known as Father Mathew Memorial Church, is a Roman Catholic Gothic Revival church and friary on Fr. Mathew Quay, on the bank of the River Lee in Cork. It belongs to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and is the only church dedicated to Father Theobald Mathew.
The building's listing in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes it as a "Regency Gothic-style church with Gothic-Revival portico", and it is "one of the first large churches in the south of Ireland to be built in this style." Construction of the church began in the early 1830s but stalled shortly before the Great Famine. It would only be completed in 1890, in time for the centenary of the birth of Fr. Mathew. The church features several noteworthy stained glass windows, including three by Harry Clarke's studio and a large memorial to Daniel O'Connell.
The Capuchin Order arrived in Cork in 1637, thirteen years after the first Capuchin Community in Ireland was established in Dublin. The Cork friary was destroyed at some point in the seventeenth century. Father Bartholomew Mortell subsequently opened a hospice in the city. Most Catholics, including the Capuchins, were expelled from Cork by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin in 1644, but the friary was reopened five years later, in 1649. This establishment was likely located on the same site as the later South Friary, on Blackamoor Lane, in what is now Cork's South Parish. The South Friary was built in 1771 by the Capuchin preacher Father Arthur O'Leary. O'Leary described the church as "remarkable for its dwarfish dimensions, its utter want of architectural grace, and its perfect seclusion from the public gaze".
The Capuchin and temperance reformer Theobald Mathew arrived in Cork in 1814 and became an active social crusader, working to improve the conditions of the city's poor. Father Mathew resolved to replace the cramped South Friary with a new church, and a committee was established to oversee the planning. A competition was held in 1825, and the plan by architect George Richard Pain — who also designed Blackrock Castle and the courthouse on Washington Street — was chosen. Pain, a former apprentice of the architect John Nash, was awarded the contract for £50.
The city authorities offered a site on Sullivan's Quay, facing across the River Lee's south channel to the Grand Parade. For reasons that are uncertain, Mathew declined and opted for a site on Charlotte Quay, now Fr. Mathew Quay. This required the marshy ground on Morrison's Island to be drained and a foundation be built to bear the church's weight. The preparation of the site cost almost £1,600. It was estimated that the church would cost £10,000 to build, half of which was raised by the citizens of Cork. The simultaneous construction of two other churches — St. Patrick's on the Lower Glanmire Road, by Pain and his brother James Pain, and the Dominican St. Mary's on Pope's Quay by Thomas and Kearns Deane — meant that the architects were competing for funds at a time when the city was stricken by a cholera outbreak. A further £4,500 was provided by Mathew himself.
The foundation stone was laid on 10 October 1832, Mathew's birthday. A dispute over costs led to Mathew paying Pain a further £300. Pain died in 1838, and supervision of the construction was taken over by Thomas Coakley. The cost of the church had spiralled to £14,000 by 1840. With the builder, a Mr Anthony, unable to meet his costs, work stalled in 1841. Mathew refused the suggestions of many to use subscriptions from the temperance movement to fund his church.
Following the Great Famine, a public meeting in Cork agreed to continue work on Holy Trinity. Thomas Deane, whose entry in the original competition had failed, was chosen to complete the church without its portico and spire. William Atkins was given responsibility for the church's interior. The church finally opened on 10 October 1850. A Pontifical High Mass was held, with admission by ticket, and celebrated by the bishops of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, and Ossory. Nevertheless, the interior was only completed ten years after Mathew's death, about 1866, and the portico remained unfinished. The sculptor John Hogan produced two carved heads flanking the main door.
Several suggestions were made in the following two decades to complete the façade of Holy Trinity. A proposal by George Ashlin was approved in 1877 which would have differed drastically from Pain's original plans, but this was not carried out. Fr. Paul Neary, the Capuchin provincial superior in Ireland, organised celebrations for the centenary of Fr. Mathew's birth, and organised a public meeting to stimulate progress on the church. It was decided to complete the church to Pain's design. A campaign was organised to ensure the funds were in place for work to be completed.
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