The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is without doubt the only building where a Christmas service has been held regularly for over 700 years. It is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland, cruciform in shape, with a large nave, slightly longer than the chancel, flanked by aisles which are wider than the nave. The aisles lead on to the north and south transepts which meet under the tower.
The earliest part of the present Church dates from the beginning of the 14th century and includes the chancel with its three windows on the south wall.
In 1484, the Archbishop of Tuam issued letters which gave the Church ‘Collegiate’ jurisdiction by which it was governed by a warden and vicars who would be appointed by the Mayor and Burghers of the town. In 1537, Lord Deputy Grey arrived to demand the transfer of allegiance from the pope to Henry VIII. In 1643, Catholic Worship was resumed in the Church and continued until Cromwell took the town and his troops wrecked the Church, destroying all the old stained glass, defacing many monuments and stabling their horses there. About that time many of the wall statues and plaques were removed and were later placed in the Procathedral.
In 1689, on the arrival of James II in Ireland, Roman Catholics petitioned for possession of the Church and this was granted, but then two years later, General Ginkel took the town and the Church was handed back. Anglican worship has continued uninterrupted there since.
In 1832, the top of the tower, which can be seen in our drawing and in our photograph, was struck by lightning and burnt for more than five hours. There was a high wind and a lot of rain, but several men were lashed to the beams of the steeple with mops etc. and extinguished the flames, and no great damage was done.
Our drawing was done in 11823 by E.W. Thompson. He was standing in Shop Street and gave himself artistic licence to include more of the Church grounds than he could actually see. The corner of the wall facing us is that of Church Lane and Shop Street. The Tholsel, or Town Hall, was situated on this corner but had recently burnt down and much of the stone was removed to build the Bank of Ireland in Eyre Square. The rest of the stone was probably used in building the wall we see. Just behind the Shop Street section of the wall, between Thimble Castle and Church Lane, was later built up as an arcade of stalls known as ‘The Stannins’ or ‘The Arches’.
As we look at the Church, the Lynch transept is on the left, the Chapel of the Knights Templar is in the corner and the sanctuary is on the right. Some of the windows are slightly different today. The tower we see was not part of the original church but was constructed in the 15th century. In the mid-19th century, the top part was removed and changed to the steeple we know today. The buildings we see to the right of the drawing were on the Church side of Lombard Street, ie, opposite Herterich’s butcher shop. The 1820 map of the city by Mogan shows a number of buildings on that site, one of which was where the Lunch Window is today.
Our photograph was taken from the opposite direction c1880 before the now famous tree was even a sapling. The Church almost looks naked without the beautiful tree but it helps us appreciate what a magnificent building it is. The history of this Church is a microcosm of the history of the city and to walk through it, or around it is to feel a sense of that history.
Tomorrow after noon at 4pm, the Church will have a very special “Carols Around the Christmas Tree” event during which many of the market stall holders will do the readings. It is a wonderful ‘pure Galway’ occasion and is highly recommended to get you and the family into the Christmas spirit.
Go dtugfadh Dia Nollag mór mhaith díbh ar fad.
