St John's Cathedral

St. John’s Cathedral was designed by the English architect Thomas Hardwick and its foundation stone was laid in May 1856. By March 1859, the building had been roofed and the adminstrator, Fr. Burke was privileged to celebrate the first mass in the new cathedral. The Limerick firm of Messrs. Hennessey was commissioned to design the tower and it was completed in 1882.

The cathedral was officially consecrated by Most Rev. Edward Thomas O’ Dwyer in June 1894. Three major programmes of reconstruction have taken place, one in the 1950’s and the second beginning in 1977. The third major restoration of the cathedral was completed by Dr. Donal Murray in June 2003 and took two years.