Wednesday, September 5
Irish Ecclesiastical Architecture, Part II
From a ruined cathedral located on the outskirts of Tralee. (The local diocese is now centered in Killarney). Note the distinctive multi-light square end, which I saw in several variations during my trip.
Another view.
Sedilia from the sanctuary of the former cathedral. Rather than sitting in the presider's chair common today, or the bench used from Trent to more recent days, medieval priests would sit in elaborate seats, often arched and built into the wall, flanked by places for the deacon and subdeacon and sometimes incorporating a niche with drain for the lavabo.
Another view of the complex at about sunset. The bell-cote, another common Irish feature, belongs to a subsidiary chapel or church of some sort located just behind the cathedral's liturgical west end.
A remarkably well-preserved Franciscan monastery, also near Tralee. It's quite literally in suburbia, surrounded by back yards, a nearby soccer-field, and hedges.
A view of the monastic church's east end, with a five-light variant on the typical Irish design. Such vast spreads of glass are worthy of study today as a manifestation of liturgical orientation towards the rising, eastern sun.
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