Tuam Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Assumption in Tuam, more commonly known simply as Tuam Cathedral, is the Church of Ireland cathedral of the united dioceses of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe. It stands at the heart of the small County Galway market town that has been an important ecclesiastical centre since the early medieval period, when Tuam was the seat of the High Kings of Connacht.

The present cathedral, designed by Sir Thomas Deane and consecrated in the 1860s, is a confident Gothic Revival building in honey-coloured limestone. Its most extraordinary feature, however, is much older: the great 12th-century Romanesque chancel arch from the earlier cathedral was preserved and incorporated into the new building. Richly carved with chevrons, beasts and human heads, it is considered one of the finest pieces of Hiberno-Romanesque architecture surviving in Ireland.

Inside, visitors will also find the medieval Cross of Tuam fragments and a quiet, light-filled nave used for regular services and concerts. The cathedral sits on Galway Road in the centre of town, a short walk from the Market Square and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption, making it easy to combine with a wider exploration of Tuam's compact historic core.