St. Mels Kathedrale / St. Mel's Cathedral

St. Mel lived in the 5^th century and was the first bishop of Ardagh. The cathedral whose foundation stone was laid in 1840 is dedicated to the saint. However the Great Famine delayed the building progress and the first mass could not be celebrated before 1856. The entrance hall and the bell tower were constructed in 1863, the porticos was added in 1890. In 1893 the cathedral was officially dedicated. On December 25^th, 2009 a disastrous fire burnt out the cathedral completely. It also destroyed many religious artefacts that were at display in the museum. After a reconstruction time of five years the Christmas Mass 2014 could be celebrated again in the cathedral.

Especially conspicuous is the font with the surrounding mosaic standing in the middle of the main aisle (wasn't there something about not blocking escape routes in case of a fire...?). Especially eye-catching are the modern glass windows that were designed by Father Kim En Joong and manufactured by the German company Derix Glasstudios for the renovation in 2014.