looking up the aisle of Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral is Church of Ireland and part of the Anglican Communion (as apposed to the Catholic Notre Dame Cathedral, just up the road. It is the "mother church" of Glendalough and head of the diocese of Dublin. The first cathedral was built here in 1030 CE (probably wooden), although the present church dates to about 1180, when the Anglo Normans under Strongbow rebuilt the cathedral in its current form. It would have towered over the houses of Dublin when it was built.

 
view of the right transept, and the 12th c door inset into the wall outside.

The cathedral, of course, has been renovated dozens of times, starting in 1284 and most recently in 1980. Funds are currently being used to restore the crypts and some of the window glazing. This is all done by donation (and there's a box inside to drop a few coins in). Prior to a major rebuilding in the 1870s (when a local distiller poured the equivalent of €30 milion into it), the cathedral had partially collapsed and was being used as church, tavern, and market.

Outside the church are the low remains of the original chapter house, dating from the 13th century, and a romanesque doorway fromt eh 12th century. Only a few of the low stone foundations remain. [more ¬]

the foundations of the 13th chapter house

photos
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