Survey Data

Reg No

21804002


Rating

Regional


Categories of Special Interest

Architectural, Artistic, Social


Original Use

Church/chapel


In Use As

Church/chapel


Date

1920 - 1930


Coordinates

155199, 130510


Date Recorded

23/10/2007


Date Updated

--/--/--


Description

Freestanding gable-fronted Roman Catholic church, begun in 1922 and opened in 1925, comprising seven-bay nave and six-bay side aisles with gable-fronted porches having chamfered corners. Square-plan three-stage tower to front (south) elevation having battered base, two-bay single-storey chapel to west and three-bay single-storey sacristy to east elevation. Pitched slate roof having cast-iron ridge crestings, limestone copings with cross finials and bracketed eaves course. Limestone spire having crenellations and wrought-iron finial. Limestone chimneystack to sacristy. Snecked limestone walls having stringcourse and inscribed plaque to front. Stained glass oculus over round-headed stained glass windows to front elevation. Stained glass oculi to nave with limestone surrounds. Oculi to nave north end bays having inset quatrefoil stained glass windows. Round-headed openings having limestone surrounds and stained glass windows. Round-headed openings to tower. Round-headed opening with limestone hoodmoulding and double-leaf timber battened doors. Round-headed openings to porches having limestone hoodmouldings and double-leaf timber battened doors with cast-iron strap hinges. Round-headed opening to chapel having limestone chamfered surround and double-leaf timber battened doors with wrought-iron strap hinges. Timber scissors brace roof to interior. Pointed arch arcade having marble columns with render capitals. Timber gallery. Timber gallery to rear of church. Pair of square-profile snecked limestone piers and boundary walls with cast-iron railings.

Appraisal

This church is located in a prominent position within the town of Bruree and relatively near the site of the former Roman Catholic Church, Saint Munchin's. It was built by the Cork architect Samuel Francis Hynes and the builder was Jermiah J. Coffey from Midleton. The church was opened on the 26th April 1925. The church's round-arched style is influenced by Romanesque architecture which was being revived in Ireland in the twentieth century. It retains a fine interior with stained glass windows, well carved timber roof and marble colonnades. These features add architectural significance to the building and also exhibit the skilled craftsmanship used in its construction.