The Cathedral of the Assumption in Thurles was designed by James Joseph McCarthy for the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Archbishop Patrick Leahy announced plans in 1857 to replace the town's parish church, the Big Chapel. Construction ran from 1865 to 1879, and Archbishop Thomas Croke consecrated the cathedral on June 21, 1879. Barry McMullen was the main builder, and J. C. Ashlin handled the enclosing walls and railings.
The style is Romanesque Revival, and the facade is modeled on Pisa Cathedral. The text names no materials or dimensions. It has a rose window and a baptistery. Its most important possession is a tabernacle by Giacomo della Porta, a pupil of Michelangelo.
The tower has eight bells cast by John Murphy of Dublin in 1867. They are now unringable and chimed by hammers, possibly because the tower is too weak. The article gives no hours.
Comments