St Eunan's Cathedral, Anglican cathedral in Raphoe, County Donegal, Ireland
St Eunan's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Raphoe, County Donegal, with a tall square tower at its western end. The oldest surviving section is the 12th-century south-east corner; the rest results from 17th- to 19th-century rebuilding. The 1893 restoration by Sir Thomas Drew absorbed the transepts into the main line, giving the church a long, narrow form, and added stained glass and a decorative western doorway.
The south-east corner of the present building dates from the 12th century, and two pieces of a 9th-century carved door lintel are thought to come from St Eunan's original monastery. Bishop George Montgomery, chaplain to James I, directed a near-total rebuilding around 1605. Much of the current fabric dates from the 1730s, and Sir Thomas Drew's restoration, begun in 1893 and funded by the Knox family, uncovered medieval work and absorbed the transepts into a long narrow plan.
The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Eunan (Adomnán of Iona, 627/8–704), abbot of Iona from 679 to 704, who founded the original monastery and church at Raphoe. Two pieces of a sculptured door lintel from around the 9th century, believed to come from that first church, are kept in the building. The cathedral is one of the two cathedrals of the United Dioceses of Derry and Raphoe, united in 1834.
The entrance is through the porch beneath the square west tower built in 1738 by Bishop Forster. Inside, look for the medieval bishop's seat, the shamrock-topped columns and the early vestry window. The quire is longer than the nave, so the building reads as a long narrow hall rather than a cross shape.
Two fragments of a carved door lintel, thought to come from St Eunan's original 9th-century monastery church, are kept at the cathedral. Inside, look for the medieval bishop's seat (sedilia), the shamrock-topped columns and a piscina. Near the building stand the remains of a consistorial court and a large bishop's palace.
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