St. Aidan's Cathedral

St. Aidan's Cathedral
St. Aidan's Cathedral
Ardeaglais Naomh Aodháin
	St. Aidan's Cathedral Location in Ireland
	52°30′08″N 6°34′15″W / 52.50222°N 6.57083°W
Location	Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Cathedral
Consecrated	1860
Architecture
Style	Gothic revival
Years built	1843–1885
Groundbreaking	1843
Completed	1885
Administration
Province	Dublin
Diocese	Ferns
Parish	Cathedral

St. Aidan's Cathedral (Irish: Ardeaglais Naomh Aodháin) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns. It is located in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, in Ireland. The saint to whom the cathedral is dedicated is Máedóc of Ferns (feast day 31 January), also known as Áedan or Aidan, who died in 626,^[1] and not to be confused with St. Aidan of Lindisfarne (feast day 31 August), an Irish missionary who died in 651.

History

With the completion of the old Cathedral in 1809, Enniscorthy becomes the Episcopal Centre of the Diocese of Ferns. Eventually, the building proved in need of repair and inadequate for the needs of the diocese. A new cathedral, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, reputedly based on Tintern Abbey in Wales, was built in 1843.^[2] It was the largest church Pugin had designed in Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

It was constructed in dressed local stone, including stone salvaged from a nearby ruined Franciscan Friary.^[3]

Notable features include the façade, a reredos carved from Caen stone and a great north window with intricate stone tracery. The cathedral was subsequently much renovated in line with reforms promulgated by the Second Vatican Council. It was restored to its near original design in 1994 when authentic colours, materials and techniques were used. The restoration took a year, during which time cathedral services were held at St Mary's church (Church of Ireland) nearby.

The cathedral is similar in structure to St Mary's Cathedral, Killarney.^[4]