Statues - Hither & Thither

 

Description

The main north façade of the cathedral shows three (sets of) sculptures:

1. Statue of the Blessed Virgin, sculpted by Imogen Stuart.
   Saint Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ (Wikipedia).
2. Stone reliefs in the tympana, sculpted by Domhnall O'Murchada.
   Each tympanum represents a sacrament, from left to right: Baptism, Matrimony and Ordination.
3. Bronze doors with reliefs, sculpted by Imogen Stuart.
   Each of the doors shows a series of bronze plaques representing events of Jesus's life and the first days of the Church.
   1. Left doors, panels showing the mercy and welcome which Jesus has for sinners who come to his house.
      • Left: the Prodigal Son.
      • Upper right: the Samaritan woman at the well.
      • Lower right: Mary Magdalene.

   2. Central doors, panels showing the power of God to calm the storms of the human heart and to strenghten our weakness.
      • Left: the curing of a paralytic.
      • Upper right: the calming of the storm.
      • Lower right: the curing of the blind man.

   3. Right doors, panels reminding of the power that Christ gave to his Church: to believe, to preach and to die for him.
      • Left: the first martyr of the Church, St. Stephen.
      • Upper right: the commission to St. Peter to rule the flock of Christ.
      • Lower right: the appearance of Christ to the doubting St. Thomas.

   Each of the doors is dedicated at the plinth:

   • Left: in memory of most reverend francis j. mccormack, bishop of galway 1887-1909.
   • Central: erected by the very reverend james canon o'dea p.p. clarenbridge | in memory of most reverend thomas o'dea, bishop of galway 1909-1923
   • Right: in memory of most reverend thomas o'doherty, bishop of galway 1923-1936.

Sculptors

• Domhnall Ó Murchadha, born Daniel Joseph Murphy (Carrigrohane, Ballincollig, Co. Cork, 1941), Irish sculptor.
  
• Imogen Stuart, née Werner (1927), German-Irish sculptor, working in Sandycove. She married in 1948 the Irishman Ian Stuart (Wikipedia – Aosdana).

Sources & Information

• Most Rev. Michael Browne, Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and Saint Nicholas: A History and Description (Galway, 1967) (PDF on-line).

Tags

Locatie (N 53°16'32" - W 9°3'28") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

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