page_title: St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick
section_title: From the Irish Reformation to the 19th century
hierarchical_section_title: St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick / From the Irish Reformation to the 19th century
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of detail of misericords under choir seats at St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick
context_page_description: Saint Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick, Ireland, which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe, it is now the central cathedral in the United Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe.
context_section_description: There are five chandeliers which hang from the ceiling. These are only lit on special occasions. The larger three of the five were made in Dublin and presented in 1759 by the Limerick Corporation. The belfry holds a peal of eight bells, six of which were presented by William Yorke, mayor of Limerick, in 1673. An active team of bell ringers travels the country to compete with other campanologists.
  Saint Mary's received its organ in 1624, when Bishop Bernard Adams donated one. It has been rebuilt over the centuries and was most recently renovated in 1968 and 2005.
  In 1620 the English-born judge Luke Gernon, a resident of Limerick, wrote a flattering description of the cathedral:
  "not large, but lightsome, and by the providence of the Bishop fairly beautified within, and as gloriously served with singing and organs".
  
  During the Irish Confederacy wars, the cathedral was briefly returned to Catholic hands. The bishop of Limerick, Richard Arthur, was buried in the cathedral in 1646.
  In 1651, after Oliver Cromwell's forces captured Limerick, the cathedral was used as a stable by the parliamentary army. This misuse was short lived, but was a similar fate to that suffered by some of the other great cathedrals during the Cromwellian campaign in Ireland. The troops also removed the cathedral's original 13 ft Pre-Reformation high altar from the cathedral. The altar was only reinstated in the 1960s. It is the largest such altar in Ireland and the UK, carved from a single limestone block. The altar is used for communion services at major festivals and remains in its historic location in what is now the chapel of the Virgin Mary or Lady Chapel.
  In 1691, the cathedral suffered considerable damage, particularly on the east end, during the Williamite Siege of Limerick.  After the Treaty of Limerick, William granted £1,000 towards repairs. There are cannonball from 1691 in the Glentworth Chapel/Saint George's Chapel inside.
caption: Choir misericords
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