Kildare Cathedral | |
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Cathedral Church of St Brigid, Kildare | |
53°09′28″N 6°54′41″W / 53.1579°N 6.9114°W | |
Location | Kildare, County Kildare |
Country | Ireland |
Denomination | Church of Ireland |
Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
Website | https://stbrigidscathedral.com/ |
History | |
Founded | After 1223 |
Founder(s) | Probably Ralph of Bristol |
Dedication | St. Brigid |
Dedicated | This abbey site dates from AD 480 |
Consecrated | 1230 |
Events | St. Brigid's firehouse or fire-temple of Kildare was maintained from pre-christian period until 16th century |
Past bishop(s) | Ralph of Bristol, died 1232; Bishop Wellesley, died 1539 |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Heritage designation | National Monument |
Architect(s) | George Edmund Street (1824–1881) was responsible for the reconstruction completed by 1896 |
Architectural type | Cruciform without aisles |
Style | Irish Gothic |
Groundbreaking | A feature is the arches spanning from buttress to buttress in advance of the side walls |
Completed | Renovation completed 1896 |
Specifications | |
Capacity | Can accommodate the 20 Church of Ireland families who maintain the cathedral |
Number of domes | The central tower, half of which is a modern reconstruction |
Materials | Various stones including granite and sandstone |
Administration | |
Province | Province of Dublin |
Diocese | Diocese of Meath and Kildare |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | The Most Reverend Pat Storey |
Dean | The Very Reverend Isobel Jackson |
Precentor | The Very Reverend R W Jones |
Archdeacon | The Venerable L Stevenson |
Laity | |
Director of music | Charles Marshall |
Kildare Cathedral, or St Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare, is one of two Church of Ireland cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Originally a Catholic cathedral, it was built in the 13th century on the site of an important Celtic Christian abbey, which is said to have been founded by Saint Brigid in the 5th century. The site was taken over by the Protestant Church of Ireland following the Reformation. There is an Irish round tower in the cathedral grounds.