The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1915-02-06
|re|and's Despoi|ed
Cathedra|S

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The Irish capital, the capital of
Catholic Ireland, is in very anon.
alous position for a cathedral city.
There are in it two cathedrals, no
less-both built in times long past by
Catholic money, and both now in the
hands of the Protestant denomina-
ton. A similar state of affairs ex.
lists in Cork, Limerick, Waterford and
other Irish cities, save in regard to
quality of buildings. These later
cities have only one cathedral each,
appropriated. The chief one in Dub.
lin is st. Patrick's -a fine Gothic edi.
flee, the original fabric of which was
erected under the supervision of the
Apostle himself. The second one was
erected by Sitric, Danish king of
Dublin and adjacent territory who be.
came a convert to Christianity 1t
was called the Church of the Holy
Trinity, but it is now and has been
long known simply as Christ Church
Cathedral. It is not more than a
bowshot from the sister structure, St.
Patrick's. Both buildings have fallen
into a semi-ruinous condition-sym-
bolic quite of the Church which had
snatched them from the Church
which owned them-when the one was
restored by a rich brewer named
Guinness and the other by less opu-
lent, but equally ambitious distiller
named Roe (whose ambition led to
the Bankruptcy Court) in the decade
from 1860 to 1870. 1t was in Christ
Church Cathedral that Doping, Bish-
op of Meath, soon after the signing
of the Treaty of Limerick, preached
sermon on the reasons why faith
should not be kept with the Papists
on the question of freedom of worship,
and began the agitation which result.
ed in the formal violation of the
treaty by the hands of Parliament.
When Catholic emancipation came,
nigh two centuries later, the liber.
ated worshippers of the back lanes
and alleys began to cast about for a
site for Cathedral for themselves,
and they were enabled by a ruse to
get the site of the present Pro-Ca.
thedral from the powerful Beresford
family (Lords Waterford), whose
town residence, Tyrone House," was
purchased by the Commissioners of
Education. The Beresfords fled from
it when they found the o.Cathedral
put up right across the way (Marlbor.
ough street,. Mr.. Staunton, a Catho.
lie, was then Collector General OF
Stamps in Ireland, friend of Daniel
O'Connells, and it was through his
influence that the ground for the
Prof. Cathedral was secured from the
autocratic Beresford family, who, had
they suspected for what purpose 1t
was intended, would have turned ii
into wilderness rather than sell it.
Negotiations have been long carried
on, we believe, with the view of &C.
quiring the houses on Tyrone place
and Sackville street (now O'Connell
street) which stand between the Pro.
Cathedral and that magnificent thor.
oughfare, but in what position the
matter now stands we are not aware
We notice, however, that Archbishop
Walsh has taken steps toward &C
quiring ground for a Cathedral in q
different part of the capital. The
place is behind Ormonde Quay and
close to the Four Courts-forming
portion Of new thoroughfare con.
templated to take in on circular
sweep both the existing cathedrals
and go on diagonally toward the
Phoenix Park via the North Circular
road, embracing beautiful suburban
scenery and having as background
behind the grand foliage of the park
the purple range of the Dublin
Mountains. There stand, as a screen
between the Pro-Cathedral and O'Con
nell street, few tall houses-one OF
which was the headquarters of the
Bible Society in Ireland-and these
may be held on long leases, preclud
ing the possibility of extending the
fabric Of the Pro-Cathedral to the
frontal line Of "the finest thorough
fare in the world" as O'Connell street
has been Observation-Disclosures and
Times.