Saint Mary's Cathedral Limerick : A Guide

A beautifully illustrated history of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick from its foundation to the present day.

A beautifully illustrated history of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick from its foundation to the present day.

According to tradition, Saint Mary’s Cathedral is built on the site of the Viking place of assembly – the thing; subsequently the palace of the O’Brien kings of Thomond, and was given to the Church by King Donal Mór O’Brien in 1168.

In the following centuries the cathedral was embellished by the wealthy merchants of Limerick who built the chantry chapels on the north and south sides of the nave – the largest surviving range of medieval chantry chapels in any Irish church. The cathedral boasts Ireland’s largest medieval altar stone and Ireland’s only surviving medieval choir stalls.

Later centuries saw the installation of the massive 17th-century Thomond Monument in the chancel, beside the tomb of Donal Mór O’Brien. In the early 19th century, the Pain brothers designed the Bishop’s Throne or Cathedra, the screen to the Glentworth Chapel, and the monument to Bishop John Jebb. The 19th-century stained glass is particularly fine.

Saint Mary’s Cathedral is an extraordinarily complex building representing developments from the mid-twelfth century to the later twentieth century – a treasure of Irish religious art. It continues to be a place of prayer and pilgrimage for all who enter its doors and a symbol of faith, hope and love to the city of Limerick.