History

Raphoe Cathedral

Raphoe rejoices in the distinction - at least according to the radio programme "Brain of Britain" of being the smallest cathedral city in Europe, and one of the features of the town which gives it this unique position is its cathedral dedicated to St. Eunan. Built on a prominent site at one corner of the Diamond, the cathedral stands as a building which is very much of and for the town. It is a building which every one notices and many people visit, whose clock (when accurate!) the town keeps time by, and whose history the whole town shares in. It is a place which symbolises our long and often distinguished ecclesiastical history in Ireland dating back to the time of the "Saints and Scholars".

As a community, Raphoe was founded by St. Columba in the 6th century, who would have built a wooden church as part of his monastery, and indeed even today parts of the town reflect their monastic origin such as "The Close" and "Guest House End". About a century later the monastery and church were re-founded by St. Eunan (or Adamnan), a relative of Columba’s and the ninth Abbot of Iona who lived from 627-704.

The earliest record of the name of a Bishop of Raphoe is said to be Aengus O'Lappin in 959.

Nothing survives of these early churches today, however, the earliest remains being several ninth century blocks of stone from the first stone church on the site - one in the porch and others in the north wall. The south-east corner is the oldest part of the present building and dates from the twelfth century. The rest of the building is a mixture of successive re-buildings and alterations dating from the seventeenth to late nineteenth centuries, most of the present fabric dating from the 1730’s. The final restoration in 1893 involved the demolition of two transepts and a gallery which were originally constructed in that period of re-building in the 1730’s. Bishop Nicholas Foster (1716 - 1743) is remembered for adding the tower in 1738 and endowing the Volt House (at the western corner of the Diamond) as a church widows alms house, as well as the Foster House for female boarders at the Royal School and the former Diocesan Library in the east wing of the school, which was itself re-located here during his bishoprick in 1737.

The history of both town and cathedral have been chequered. Periods of prosperity have alternated with those of decline and neglect. Thus today the cathedral presents a fine appearance, but in 1611 it was described by the Bishop of Raphoe himself as "ruinated and decayed", and again in 1876 it was described as "the most neglected church in the diocese though it is situated in the richest part of Donegal".

The personalities connected with the building have been similarly colourful. Bishop John Leslie who began the building of the palace in 1636 had formerly been a soldier, and had the distinction - thanks to the private army he maintained - of being the only Church of Ireland bishop who was allowed to remain unmolested by Cromwell, who indeed even paid him a pension on condition that his army caused no trouble!

Perhaps the most unlikely character ever to become bishop was Philip Twysden who was consecrated in 1747. He spent most of his episcopate in London working his way through the family fortune. When this had gone, he set about restoring it by rather unorthodox means, and was finally shot dead in 1753 while in the act of robbing a stagecoach!

In the final analysis, however, no Cathedral exists merely for its bishops and dignitaries, but for the people of the community which it serves, and Raphoe Cathedral exemplifies this. The cathedral records bear witness to generations of people from all sections of the community sharing in its life through their family events of baptism, marriage and death, and the cathedral graveyard is still today the resting place for a wide spectrum of people across our community. The cathedral registers record the births and deaths of vagrants and bishops alike, and chronicles the fortunes of the town, from the victims of famine fever in the 1840’s and typhus in the 1870’s to the more settled times of today. Men and women of all sorts and conditions walk through its pages - some of them fascinating glimpses into the past, such as the baptism in 1738 of: "Richard Cornwallis, a native of Calcutta, baptised and named at his own request. Formerly a Mahometan". Alongside the unusual is the everyday - the generations of hatters, shoemakers, servants, gardeners, shopkeepers, teachers, clergy and many others who have created the town in which we inherit.

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Last updated on : 14/02/98

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