Holy Cross Church, Tramore

History

Until the Reformation the district around Tramore was served from the church at Drumcannon, whose ruins stand a few miles to the east of the town. During the penal era a small chapel was built at Pickardstown, about a mile from Tramore. In the second half of the eighteenth century, as Tramore developed as a seaside resort, a thatched chapel was erected a little to the south-west of the present church.

The present church was designed by James Joseph McCarthy, with Messrs Ryan of Limerick as builders. The foundation stone was laid by the Most Rev. Dr Dominic O'Brien, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, on 14 September 1856. The church was dedicated on 29 July 1860 and solemnly blessed on 13 July 1862, at a total cost of £18,000. The parish gives two different dates for the completion of the tower and spire, 1871 and 1881. The titular of the church is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, kept on 14 September.

A total renewal of the interior was undertaken in 1965, and the provision of a new and more adequate sacristy was planned, allowing the decrees of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy to be implemented. The architects were Messrs C. Harvey Jacob and Associates of Waterford and the main building contractors Messrs John Hearne and Son, Waterford.

The building

The church is in the Gothic Revival style and was constructed between 1856 and 1871. It is a protected structure, identified by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as a building of architectural, artistic, historical, technical and social significance. The altar and ambo are of rough cut white Sicilian marble and the altar area is of black polished granite.

Notable features

The stained glass was supplied by Messrs Meyer of Munich. A tapestry measuring 27 feet by 12 feet carries 50 semi-abstract episodes from the Scriptures; it was drawn and designed by Robert Burke and worked by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Waterford, with figures in natural coloured heavy linen appliqued on a scarlet linen background. The crucifix was carved by Nuala ní Cathmhaoil.

Notable people

The Rev. Nicholas Cantwell was appointed to the parish in 1830 and served until 1875, raising the money for the building of Holy Cross Church. Canon Power records that Daniel O'Connell styled him "the tallest and honestest priest in Ireland". At a public meeting in Tramore in January 1856 the sum of £1,086 was subscribed towards the new church. Fr Cantwell died on 1 November 1875; during his pastorate the church at Carbally was also built. The stonework was carried out by the Fagan brothers, stonemasons, whose papers relating to their work at Holy Cross were donated by their descendants.