St Finbarre's Cathedral, Cork

I Location

Site Location: Cork
National Grid Reference: 22W 66 72
County: Cork
Dedication: St Finbarre’s Cathedral
Type of building/monument: Church (ruin), former cathedral

II General Description

: Fragments in churchyard wall, NE of cathedral

In the Chapter House of the ruined church are six voussoirs with human heads, found in 1865 during demolition of the 17thc. tower, where they had been re-used as building stones.

III Exterior Features

4. Other

(i) and (ii) reused fragments

Two architectural fragments have been re-used in the jamb of a Gothic arch resting on human heads, set in the enclosure to the NE of the cathedral: fragment (i) has the bases of double colonnettes, fragment (ii) has a single colonnette base.

VI Loose Sculpture

(i) Human head voussoir

: Voussoir with human head (1)

: Voussoir with human head (1)

: Voussoir with human head (1)

: Voussoir with human head (1)

Elongated head with flat bands of straight hair, lying from forehead to nape, and scalloped hairline (cf. (v)). The mouth is open in a grimace. The features are smooth and crisply carved, with almond shaped eyes. the L side of the head is well preserved, the R ear is broken and the tip of nose chipped.

Dimensions

h.	0.28 m
w.	0.22 m
d.	0.38 m

(ii) Human head voussoir

: Voussoir with human head (2)

: Voussoir with human head (2)

: Voussoir with human head (2)

Head with hair formed from twisted rope-like strands, lying from forehead to nape. Small almond-shaped eyes with drilled pupils. (cf. (iv)). Nose damaged, mouth and chin broken off.

Dimensions

h.	0.29 m
w.	0.17 m
d.	0.33 m

(iii) Human head voussoir

: Voussoir with human head (3)

: Voussoir with human head (3)

: Voussoir with human head (3)

Head with multiple straight rows of pellet to indicate tight curls. Finely carved eyes and eyebrows. Earholes drilled in both ears. the nose and chin are slightly damaged; the chin appears to have been cut back to make it level with the base of the voussoir instead of projecting below the voussoir.

Dimensions

h.	0.30 m
w.	0.17 m
d.	0.46 m

(iv) Human head voussoir

: Voussoir with human head (4)

: Voussoir with human head (4)

: Voussoir with human head (4)

: Voussoir with human head (4)

Elongated head with hair formed from twisted rope-like strands (cf. (ii)). Finely carved almond-shaped eyes and thin mouth. The tip of the nose is broken. The head has a cleft chin, extending below the voussoir. In good condition.

Dimensions

h.	0.33 m
w.	0.15 m
d.	0.46 m

(v) Human head voussoir

: Voussoir with human head (5)

: Voussoir with human head (5)

: Voussoir with human head (5)

Finely carved head with flat bands of straight hair (cf. (i)), and scalloped hairline. Fine features with a narrow, curved, slit mouth. The tip of the nose is broken, but otherwise the head is in good condition. The long chin extends below the level of voussoir (cf. (iv)). The voussoir has been cut back above the L side of the head.

Dimensions

h.	0.28 m
w.	0.15 m
d.	0.43 m

(vi) Human head voussoir

: Voussoir with human head (6)

: Voussoir with human head (6)

: Voussoir with human head (6)

Elongated head with narrow bands of wavy hair, parted in the centre. Pointed moustache, with beard in spiral curls on chin and along jaw line. Eyes with drilled pupils. Ears missing, but earholes visible. the R side of the head is damaged and the top rim of the voussoir is broken at the sides above the head. The long chin extends below the level of the voussoir (cf. (iv) and (v)).

Dimensions

h.	0.30 m
w.	0.15 m
d.	0.38 m

VII History

A monastery was founded at the site by St Finbar in the 6thc. Abbots are recorded from the late 7th to the 12thc. Bishops are recorded in 876, 891, 958, 1036, 1057 and 1096. A large territory was given to the Bishop of Cork at the synod of Rathbreasail, but after 1119 the territory was reduced by the emergence of the dioceses of Cloyne and Ross. In c.1134 or before his death in 1138, Cormac MacCarthaig founded an Augustinian monastery, known as Gill Abbey, about 400 m W of the cathedral at Cork. The abbey was largely destroyed in the 17thc., and the remaining buildings were demolished in 1745.

VIII Comments/Opinions

The voussoirs appear to come from the outer order of an arch. Bradley and King point out the variations in thickness of the edge-mouldings, indicating the original positions of some of the voussoirs on the left or right of an arch. The extending chins would have overlapped the next inside order. The heads are similar to those at Cormac's Chapel, Cashel, especially those in the chancel arch and below the chancel vault, and they appear to be the products of the same school. The carving is of high quality, with finer detail and finish than Cashel. Bradley and King suggest that the voussoirs might come from Cormac MacCarthaig's church at Gill Abbey. The close connections with Cashel and the common patronage of Cormac MacCarthaig indicate that Cormac’s Chapel was one of a group of stylistically related buildings, rather than the unique source of Romanesque influences in Ireland.

IX Bibliography

Caulfield, R., Handbook of the Cathedral of St FinnBarre, Cork, 1881.
Robinson, A. C., St Fin Barre's Cathedral Historical and Descriptive, Cork, 1897.
Clapham, A. W. ‘Some Minor Irish Cathedrals’, in Papers by Sir Alfred Clapham, Supplement to Archaeological Journal, 106, 1949, 16-39.
A. Gwynn and R. N. Hadcock, Medieval Religious Houses, Ireland, London, 1970, 66, 167.
Bradley J. and King, H. A., ‘Romanesque Voussoirs at St Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork’, JRSAI, 115, 1985, 146-151.