ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL

St Mary’s Cathedral is a Church of Ireland cathedral located in Tuam. The first cathedral on the present site was constructed in the 12th century, when Turlough O’Connor (1088–1156) was High King, however this cathedral only lasted a few years before being destroyed by a fire. A second cathedral was later built in the 14th century but was also destroyed.

With the introduction of the railway to Tuam in 1861, the town’s Anglican population increased leading to the building of a third cathedral on the site which was completed in 1878. Most of the present structure dates from this 1870’s period, but parts of the earlier 12th and 14th century structures survive within.

The cathedral contains a Romanesque 12th-century chancel-arch which has been called “the finest example of Hiberno-Romanesque architecture left in existence”. The cathedral also contains the High Cross of Tuam, a national monument which was moved to its present site in 1992, and a significant part of the 14th-century cathedral.