RSS
News


Home Page > News > St. Mel's Cathedral fire destroys Irish national treasures

Blogs


comment on article Make a comment
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail

St. Mel's Cathedral fire destroys Irish national treasures

Priceless artifacts lost

By
JANE WALSHE,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Saturday, December 26, 2009, 6:42 AM
Updated Saturday, December 26, 2009, 12:25 PM

 

Bookmark and Share

The fire at St. Mel's Cathedral began shortly after 5am, a few hours after midnight mass had been celebrated.
The fire at St. Mel's Cathedral began shortly after 5am, a few hours after midnight mass had been celebrated.

Priceless artifacts, many of them well over a century old, have been destroyed in the fire that gutted St. Mel's Cathedral in Longford town on Christmas Day. Police are investigating the fire which gutted the 154-year old structure. Door to door inquiries are being carried out to see if any evidence can be gathered.

The emergency services work at the scene was delayed by the weather conditions, with the water in the pipes frozen as overnight temperatures dipped to -10. A passer by alerted the fire brigade but the structure was reduced to rubble despite their best efforts.

Crowds gathered and watched in horror as the flames tore through the roof of the building, and destroyed the interior, gutting historical items dating back to the last century. It is thought that the fire started at the rear of the building and spread towards the front.

The Cathedral, which was built in 1856, featured priceless stained glass windows designed by the famed Harry Clarke, an invaluable "Second Coming" tapestry behind the Bishop's throne created by sacred art specialist Ray Carroll, and an 1860 belfry and an 1889 portico, both considered among the great architectural structures of any church in Ireland.

The fire began shortly after 5.a.m. Midnight mass had been celebrated in the cathedral by the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Colm O'Reilly, who later said the Cathedral was completely destroyed. He has also promised to rebuild it.

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


Be the first to make a comment.

It may take several minutes for your comment to appear.


Click to learn more from DiscoverIreland.com.
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password