The Honan Chapel

The Honan Chapel stands just outside the official boundary of the UCC campus, but is effectively, part of the site. So I couldn’t help but notice it. I almost passed it by, but as I wasn’t in a particular hurry to get back to the train station I decided I might as well take a closer look. I’m glad I did. It was a little gem.

It was only built in the early 20th Century,being consecrated on 5 November 1916. At first glance I could see it was a neo-Romanesque building, this doorway being very typical of the style

but a closer look revealed Celtic features, such as these capitals

The chapel is, in fact, a product of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement and is Hiberno-Romanesque, reflecting the style of early Christian churches in Ireland. It’s a product of the Celtic Twilight of Irish artists influenced by Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts and the Celtic traditions of their native land.

Inside there is a magnificent mosaic floor depicting the “River of Life”, (the colours haven’t come out on my photos, unfortunately)

All the “furniture and fittings” were beautifully crafted and full of detail

But I was particularly taken by the superb stained glass. There are nineteen windows in the Honan Chapel. Eight of the windows were designed by An Túr Gloine (The Tower of Glass), the stained glass studio of the Irish artist Sarah Purser. The other eleven were designed by Harry Clarke, the artist responsible for the Eve of St Agnes window that’s displayed in the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin  The Honan Chapel was his first major commission.

Clarke’s work is exquisite. Very much influenced by the Art Nouveau, Symbolist and Arts and Crafts movement with finely drawn figures, minutely detailed images and luminous colours. Thee photos really can’t do them justice;they need to be seen “in the flesh” to be really appreciated.

UCC Cork

After looking round the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, I decided to explore the UCC campus. The grounds are open to the public and there’s even a visitor centre where I was able to pick up a small booklet about the college and its buildings.

University College Cork (UCC) was established in 1845 as one of three Queen’s Colleges – at Cork, Galway and Belfast – to provide access to higher education in the Irish province of Munster. Today it’s part of the National University of Ireland (NUI).  Probably the most famous person associated with the College was George Boole, the inventor of Boolean logic, who was Professor of Mathematics between 1849 and 1864.

The campus is located on the edge of a picturesque limestone bluff overlooking the River Lee associated with the local early Christian saint, Finbarr and UCC’s motto is ‘Where Finbarr Taught, let Munster Learn.’

The limestone buildings of the Main Quadrangle were designed by the architectural partnership of Thomas Deane and Benjamin Woodward. A neo-Gothic complex as  his was considered the most suitable style for colleges at that time, being inspired by the great medieval colleges in England. 

The Visitor Centre can be found here as well as the Stone Gallery which contains an exhibition called ‘Stories in Stone’ featuring a series of Ogham Stones which are inscribed with an ancient Celtic script. Written in a series of carved lines, the collection dates back as far as the 5th to 7th centuries AD.

 

The Crawford Observatory  was opened in 1880 and named after William Horatio Crawford, a local brewer and merchant. it was restored and re-opened in 2006

This modern building is the Áras na Mac Léinn  – the Student Centre.

The President’s Garden, which lies between the east wing of he Quadrangle building and the Student Centre, was originally reserved for the exclusive use of the College President and his guests.

Officially outside the college grounds, but adjacent to the Student Centre, is the Honan Chapel. But this building deserves a post of its own.