Armagh: III

Primate's Chapel, Armagh Palace

I paid a visit to the City of Armagh in May, 2013.

Arriving at the main entrance to St Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city of Armagh, I strode up the steep hill where, at the summit, there stands augustly and loftily that great cathedral church with its twin spires, seat of many Cardinal Archbishops of Armagh.

There was a wedding taking place inside, so I bided my time by wandering round the cathedral, past Ara Coeli, the official residence of the Catholic Primate.

Ara Coeli is Latin, incidentally.

When the wedding ceremony ended, I walked in to the cathedral, an impressive church dating from about 1840, though not completed until the first years of the 20th century.

Former cardinals' galeros are suspended from the ceiling in the aisles.

Galero

THENCE I ambled on to English Street, past the Charlemont Arms Hotel and, a mere few yards further along, the De Averell guest-house.

Back at The Mall, where I'd parked the two-seater, I stopped to look at the court-house.

The old entrance posts of THE PAVILION, erstwhile home of the Lord Armaghdale, still exist.

The Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum, located at the Sovereign's House, was open; so I spent about thirty minutes there.

They have two Victoria Crosses and Field-Marshal Sir Gerald Templer's uniform is on display, as Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment.

I drove to the Palace Demesne, well worth a visit.

I've already written about the Palace, official residence of the Church of Ireland Archbishops of Armagh and Primates of All Ireland from 1770 until 1975.

 

The archiepiscopal arms of Primate Robinson (later 1ST BARON ROKEBY) adorn the entrance front, above the porch.

The private primatial chapel is somewhat dwarfed by its close proximity to the Palace, though this wasn't always the case, since the Palace was originally two storeys in height.

These edifices are austere, though stately, noble and dignified; apt descriptions for archiepiscopal properties.

That concluded my visit to the city of Armagh, though I hope to revisit the city and county during the summer.

First published in May, 2013.

Cathedral Donors

Inside Armagh's Anglican cathedral, a stained-glass window above the West Door displays the armorial bearings of the ten principal donors during the great 1834 restoration of the building, viz.

• 1st Earl O'Neill KP PC; 
• Sir Thomas Molyneux Bt; 
• Samuel Blacker; 
• Maxwell Close; 
• James Wood; 
• Elias Elsler; 
• Thomas Keers; 
• Roger Hall; 
• R Livingstone; 
• Sir William Verner Bt MP.

Could Lord O'Neill's act of beneficence have been meant as a kind of atonement?

In 1566, Shane O'Neill ‘utterly destroyed the Cathedral by fire, lest the English should again lodge in it’.

In 1641, it again became a target for the O'Neills, when Sir Phelim O'Neill burned it.

Sir Phelim, incidentally, met his timely fate in 1653, when he was caught and executed on the orders of William, 5th Baron Charlemont, for the murder of his brother Toby, the 3rd Baron.

Perhaps a more plausible explanation is that, as a Knight of St Patrick, Lord O'Neill was well acquainted with the Prelate of the Order, Lord John Beresford, Lord Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.

First published in May, 2013.

Primatial Sitting

His Grace the Lord Primate, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Lord John Beresford, poses for that indefatigable photographer, Timothy William, Earl of Belmont.

Lord John George de la Poer Beresford was 2nd son of the 1st Marquess of Waterford. He was the 106th Lord Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, 1822-62. Lord John's ancestors, the Beresford Baronets, were founders of Coleraine, County Londonderry.

Lord Belmont's reflection appears in the glass whilst holding his camera.

This image of Lord John is, I believe, is one of very few indeed on the Internet.

The Lord Primate wears his badge and sky-blue riband as Prelate of the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick.

Lord John possessed immense wealth, thereby enabling him to indulge his clergy, diocese, buildings, land, art and many other interests with extraordinary largesse and beneficence.

His official residence was the Palace, Armagh, where His Grace lived in great opulence and splendour.