');
myurl = 'http://109.228.27.39/xlaabsolutenm.aspx?z=434&layer=549ebc¤tpage=' + xlaANM_zone_page_549ebc;
var oScript = document.createElement("script");
oScript.src = myurl
document.body.appendChild(oScript);
}
document.write(" The Story of St. Eugene\'s Cathedral<\/span><\/p>\n\n The first Christian presence in Derry was the\nmonastery founded by St. Columba in the 6th century. It became one of the\ngreatest and most influential of Irish monasteries. In the middle of the 12th\ncentury Flaitbertach Ó Brolcháin was abbot of the Derry monastery and was a\nmajor figure in the Irish Church of that time. He embarked on the construction\nof a magnificent church in Derry - The Teampall Mór, which was completed in\n1164.<\/span> Outline boundaries for a diocesan structure in Ireland\nwere established by the Synods of the Twelfth Century reform. The boundaries of\nthe Derry Diocese today are largely the same as those agreed at that time. The\ndiocese of Derry embraces most of County Derry, most of the western and\nnorthern areas of County Tyrone, the Inishowen Peninsula and part of east\nDonegal as well as the city of Derry. The episcopal seat was initially located\nin Rathlury in County Derry, near the modern day town of Maghera. Pope Innocent\nIV approved a decision to move the episcopal seat to Derry in 1254. The\nTeampall Mór was designated as Derry’s diocesan Cathedral. It served as Derry’s\nCathedral for more than 300 years. Teampall Mór was located near the site of the present\nLong Tower Church, about half a mile from St. Eugene’s Cathedral. When the English forces, commanded by Colonel Randolph,\nlanded in Derry in the 1560s, the Teampall Mór was seized by them and was used\nas a gunpowder magazine. It was seriously damaged by an accidental explosion on\n24th April 1568. On 16th April 1600, Sir Henry Docwra entered Derry with a\nforce of 4,000 soldiers. He tore down the ruins of the Teampall Mór and used\nits stones to build the walls and ramparts of Derry City. The only known relic\nof the Teampall Mór in existence is a small square tablet of stone inscribed in\nLatin: ‘In Templo Vervs Devs Est Verec Colendus’ (‘The True God is in His\nTemple and is to be truly worshipped’). It can be seen today in the porch of\nthe Church of Ireland Cathedral - St. Columb’s. The 17th century was a particularly difficult and painful\ntime for the Catholic community in Derry. Their Bishop, Réamonn Ó Gallachair\n(1569 - 1601) was murdered just outside Derry by English yeomanry in March\n1601. No Catholic Bishop was able to exercise office or permitted to reside in\nDerry from 1601 until 1720. It was the time of the Penal Laws and the people\nendured intense persecution and great injustice. When the Penal Laws were\neventually eased and the Catholic Bishop was permitted to reside and exercise\noffice in Derry again, the Catholic Church had no church buildings and very few\nclergy. <\/p> <\/p>\n\n It was not until the 1830s, following the Catholic\nEmancipation Act of 1829, that the Catholic community was able to contemplate\nbuilding a Cathedral again. In the summer of 1838, a number of Catholics of the\ncity met in the school room of the Long Tower under the presidency of their\nBishop, Peter McLaughlin (1824 - 1840) to consider the construction of a new\nCathedral. It was agreed to be a “praiseworthy object” and a committee was\nappointed to make the necessary arrangements and raise funds. However, during\nthe next decade famine and hunger were foremost in people’s minds, and the\nconstruction of a Cathedral was less important than their desperate attempt to\nsurvive. In fact during the late 1840s, Bishop Edward Maginn (1846-1849) and\nseveral priests of the Derry diocese died of cholera and other famine-related\ndiseases whilst ministering to the people. Bishop Francis Kelly (1849-1889) was appointed Bishop in\nSeptember 1849 by Pope Pius IX. During his episcopate the diocese of Derry was\nrevitalised. In November 1849, the site for St. Eugene’s Cathedral - then known\nas Friars’ Gort (near the site of a former Dominican Friary - present day\nColumbcille Court) was purchased from William Hazlett and the foundation stone\nwas laid on 26th July 1851. For nearly quarter of a century afterwards, stone\nwas laid upon stone. The Cathedral cost a little over £40,000 to build, of\nwhich £4,000 was raised in America and the rest was donated by the people of\nDerry. William Roddy, editor of the Derry Journal said in 1899: “Do not let us\nforget that this is a Cathedral built out of the pennies of the poor, the\nsixpences of those not quite so poor and the shillings of those who were\nbetter-to-do”. The construction of the Cathedral was sporadic as the\nfunds became available over twenty five years, and owing to the difficulty in\nraising money, it was agreed to postpone the building of the tower, belfry and\nspire until a later date. Due to the lack of funds in the diocese, the windows\nwere initially all of plain glass and it was only in the later years that the\nstained glass that we see today was installed. J.J. McCarthy (1817-1882) was the architect commisioned\nto design St. Eugene’s Cathedral. He was the most outstanding church architect\nin Ireland of his time and designed many churches and convents all over the\ncountry, including - St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh; St. Mary’s Church,\nDingle, Co. Kerry; St. Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan; St. Ignatius’ Church, Galway\nand the Cathedral of the Assumption, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. St. Eugene’s Cathedral was solemnly opened on the 4th May\n1873 by Bishop Kelly, in the presence of Cardinal McGettigan and all the\nCatholic Bishops of the North. The sacred vessels used that day are still in\nthe Cathedral. The intricately patterned chalice, paten, ciborium, cruets and\ntray were crafted by a firm of goldsmiths - Le Roux, Paris. The chalice\ncontinues to be used by the Bishop on special church occasion, the Holy\nSaturday night vigil and Christmas Midnight Mass. The project to provide the spire and its beautiful\ncarillon of bells opened a new chapter in the history of the Cathedral. The\nmoney for the bells was raised by the Ladies Committee, under the presidency of\nMiss Roddy (sister of the then editor of the Derry Journal). The movement for the erection of the spire was\ninaugurated at a meeting in St. Columb’s Hall on 4th April 1899. Bishop John\nKeys O’Doherty (1890-1907), in the course of his address said: “It is now 60\nyears since the first collection was made for the contemplated building, 48\nsince the foundation stone was laid and 26 since it was solemnly dedicated for\ndivine worship, and yet it remains unfinished. I know how anxiously you long to\nhear the Belss of St. Eugene’s ring out over the City and it is to hasten that\njoyful event that we are assembled here tonight to inaugurate the collection of\nthe funds necessary for the erection of the tower and spire wherin to hang the\nbells”. Subsequently, Bishop O’Doherty put forward a resolution\nin which it was proposed to inaugurate a collection. The project received\nenthusiastic support from as far away as America. In fact, Fr. Daniel O’Doherty\nwho was sent by Bishop O’Doherty to fundraise in Boston, died while he was\nthere. He is buried in Clonmany graveyard. It was estimated that the project\nwould cost in the region of £15,000. The contract for the construction was\nawarded to the firm of Courtney & Co., Belfast, which had put in a tender\nof £11,709. The architect appointed for the project was E.J. Toye, Derry,\nassisted by G.C. Ashlin, Dublin. It is not clear whether or not McCarthy had\nalready designed the spire in his original plans. There is, in the diocesan\narchives, a drawing signed by G.C. Ashlin and E.J. Toye Architects described as\n‘Revised Design’ dated March 1900. Work began on 13th August 1900 and the last\nstone was placed on the 256ft (78m) spire on 19th June 1903. On 27th June 1903 an 8ft high granite cross, weighing\n15cwts and secured by a rod of gun metal, was sunk 30ft into the spire. The\ncross was put in position by two priests - Father John Doherty and Father\nLawrence Hegarty. <\/p> <\/p>\n\n To commemorate the Solemn Consecration, all the clergy\npresent on the day signed a visitors’ book. Since that time, the book, which is\nkept in the sacristy, has been signed by special visitors to the Cathedral. <\/p> <\/p>\n\n The changes in the liturgy of the Church, subsequent to\nthe Second Vatican Council, necessitated reorganisation of the Cathedral\nsanctuary. A temporary wooden alter was installed in May 1964. A further\ntemporary reorganisation of the sanctuary took place in 1975, prior to the live\ntransmission of Christmas Midnight Mass on Eurovision from the Cathedral. From the early 1980s the need was felt to carry out major\nrenovation. The original structure was over one hundred years old and needed\nrepair and restoration. The temporary wooden furnishings of the sanctuary were\nthought to be unsatisfactory. A new sacristy was required as the original\nsacristy was small and inadequate. McCormick, Tracey & Mullarkey Architects, Derry, were\nengaged by Bishop Edward Daly (1974-1993) to carry out this work which was\ncompleted in three phases. Work on the external renovation began in June 1985. The\nexternal stonework of the main building, the tower and spire were cleaned down,\nrestored and repointed. The roof slates were entirely replaced with Bangor\nslate. The main contractors were Messrs. George Cregan & Sons, Derry. The second phase of the work was carried out in 1987-1988\nand involved the construction of the new sacristy and conference room. This new\nbuilding was faced with granite. The main contractors were Messrs. O’Neill\nBros., Derry. The third phase began in June 1989. The Cathedral had to\nbe closed for six months. The main features of this work involved the permanent\nreorganisation of the sanctuary, the provision of new seating, floor covering\nand the re-decoration of the entire building. The main contractors once again\nwere Messrs. George Cregan & Sons, Derry. The total cost for these three\nphases of renovation was more than £1.2m. The funds were raised locally and the\ndebt was cleared within weeks of the completion of the work. The dedication of the new altar and the solemn re-opening\nof St. Eugene’s Cathedral took place on Sunday, 17th December 1989, and was\ncarried out by Bishop Edward Daly in the presence of Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich -\nArchbishop of Armagh.<\/span><\/p>
<\/span><\/div>
<\/span><\/p>\n\n
<\/span><\/div>