Newry Cathedral

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (November 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Newry Cathedral
Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Colman
Newry Cathedral Shown within Northern Ireland
54°10′29″N 6°20′16″W / 54.174744°N 6.337652°W / 54.174744; -6.337652
Location	Newry, County Down
Address	Hill Street, Newry
Country	United Kingdom Northern Ireland
Language(s)	English, Polish
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Tradition	Roman Rite
Website	www.newrycathedralparish.org
History
Former name(s)	Saint Patrick's Cathedral
Founder(s)	Bishop Thomas O'Kelly
Dedicated	6 May 1829
Consecrated	21 July 1925
Relics held	Relic of the True Cross Saint Patrick Saint Brigid Saint Rupert Saint Dympna The 12 Apostles Saint Mary Magdalene Saint Joseph Saint Oliver Plunkett Saint Columbanus Wood from the Holy Crib of Christ Piece from the Column of Flagellation Saint Anne Piece from the Holy House of Loreto Holy Innocents
Events	150th Centenary - 21 July 1979
Past bishop(s)	John McAreavey
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade A listed
Designated	26 February 1976
Architect(s)	Thomas Duff George Ashlin
Architectural type	Gothic Revival
Style	Gothic
Years built	1825-1829, 1888-1890, 1904-1909
Groundbreaking	1825
Completed	1909
Construction cost	£8,000
Specifications
Capacity	1,000
Nave length	58 m (190 ft)
Nave width	41 m (135 ft)
Nave height	18 m (59 ft)
Number of towers	1
Tower height	46 m (151 ft)
Materials	Newry Granite
Bells	11 (Colman, Francis of Assisi)
Administration
Presbytery	Newry Parochial House, 38-40 Hill Street Newry
Province	Armagh
Metropolis	Armagh
Archdiocese	Armagh
Diocese	Dromore (since 6th Century)
Parish	Newry Cathedral Parish
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Sede Vacante
Dean	Canon Francis Brown
Canon(s)	Canon Liam Stevenson Canon Francis Brown Canon Gerald Powell (Honorary Canons) Canon Francis Boyle Canon Michael Hackett Canon Aidan Hamill Canon John Kearney Canon Frank Kearney

The Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Colman or Newry Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Newry, Northern Ireland. It acts as the seat of the Bishop of Dromore, and the Mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, over 200,000 people visited the cathedral each year.^{[citation needed][needs update]} The cathedral sits on Newry's Main Street and is a Grade A listed building.^[1]

The cathedral replaced St Mary's Church (the Old Chapel), which had been constructed by Bishop Lennan in 1789 and which, for forty years, doubled as both a parish church and quasi-cathedral, two bishops having received episcopal consecration there.^[2] Newry Cathedral, dedicated under the joint patronage of St Patrick & St Colman, was designed by the city's greatest native architect Thomas Duff; work began in 1825, with the basic building completed in 1829.^[3] Built of local granite, it was the first Catholic cathedral in Ireland opened after Catholic Emancipation.

Work continued to enlarge and beautify the cathedral at various stages in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: the tower and transept were added in 1888 and the nave was extended in 1904 under the supervision of Bishop Henry O'Neill.^[3]