Honan Chapel

The Honan Chapel is located in Cork city, Ireland, on the grounds of University College Cork.

Honan Chapel, Cork and Irish Arts & Crafts movement (1894-1925)

The chapel and its liturgical collection was produced during the late phase of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement (1894-1925). Both the building and furnishings were designed and produced as a single unique commission. This accounts for an overall unity of style and design and the rich interplay of Celto-Byzantine motifs in the fabric of the building and the ornate furnishings, altar plate, hangings and vestments. The traditions of Celtic art and Hiberno-Romanesque architecture were blended with tastes for Symbolism (arts) and Art Nouveau popular in Europe before the outbreak of the First World War (1914-18). In Ireland, this was known, artistically, as the ‘Celtic Twilight’: a time for rediscovering a lost national identity through Celtic art and myths. This is seen in the poetry of W. B. Yeats and the plays of J. M. Synge. Visually, the patrons of the Honan commission were searching for a new sense of Irish national identity on the threshold of political independence from Britain.

Honan Chapel: patronage and foundation (1913-16)

The Honan Chapel is a unique case study illustrating the role played by the Dublin (city) schools in helping to renew Cork (city) craftsmanship in the first decades of the twentieth-century. The chapel occupies a special place in the spiritual life of the community at University College, Cork since its consecration on 5th November 1916. Although the chapel is dedicated to Cork's patron Finbarr its name commemorates the chapel's benefactors, wealthy Cork merchants, the Honan family. When Isabella Honan, died in 1913 the executor of her will, Rev. Sir John O´Connell, allocated £40,000 of the Honan estate to Queen's College now University College, Cork. Under the foundation charter of Queen's College Cork (1845) the college is non-denominational. As it had no place of worship, some of the money from the Honan estate was used to build a chapel to serve Roman Catholic students.

The foundation stone of the Honan Chapel was laid on 18th May 1915. The architectural style of the chapel cites the Hiberno-Romanesque tradition of the Middle Ages. The Chapel is most similar to the 12th century church of St. Cronan in Roscrea, County Tipperary, while its bell-tower on the north wall is inspired by round towers of monastic settlements so common in Ireland from the 9th century onwards.

Built by John Sisk & Son, it is a unique case study illustrating the role played by the Dublin schools in helping to renew Cork craftsmanship in the first decades of the twentieth-century. Rev. Sir John Robert O’Connell, educated by the Jesuits at Belvedere College, Dublin, was a driving force in its construction. The Irish Jesuits educated a number of the leading patrons of the Irish Arts & Crafts movement. Thomas Bodkin had attended Belvedere College and Clongowes Wood. He became Director of the National Gallery, Dublin (1927-35). One of the movement’s internationally best-known craftsmen, Harry Clarke, a stained glass artist and book illustrator, was educated at Belvedere College. O'Connell worked closely with the president of University College Cork, Sir Bertram Allan Coghill Windle (1858-1929), to achieve his goals. The chapel and its liturgical collection are products of the Irish Arts & Crafts Movement (1894-1925). This accounts for the overall unity of style. It was envisaged that the chapel would serve the needs of college students residing in the nearby Honan Hostel (1914-1991).

John Robert O’Connell commissioned the Cork firm of Egan & Sons for work on the altar plate and vestments. Craftswomen played a significant role in the Irish Arts & Crafts movement. The names of seamstresses from the Egan workshop, formerly in 32 Patrick St. Cork, are inscribed in the lining of the "Cloth of Gold". These items are a testament to the significant role played by women in the Irish Arts & Crafts Movement. These fragile items are currently in storage and in need of conservation. Students from the Crawford Municipal Technical Institute, which became the Crawford College of Art & Design, were involved in the exterior carvings. The foundation stone of the chapel was laid on 18th May 1915. James Finbarre McMullen was the architect and John Sisk was the builder. Both were Cork firms. McMullen had a high profile in the city. He had been High Sheriff for the City of Cork in 1907-08. Significant works by McMullen in Cork city include: Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, Western Rd. (1897); conservation of the Firkin Crane, built in 1855 in the Shandon district of the city (1900); St. Finbarre’s West Total Abstinence Club, Bandon Road. (1900), formerly known as “Lough Rovers” and now as the “Spires” apartment complex and the remodeling Holy Trinity Church, Fr. Mathew Quay (1906-08). In 1996 Sisk & Sons worked as contractors on the O’Rahilly Building project. This complex was built on the site of the former Honan Hostel (1914-91).

The Honan Chapel is internationally regarded as representing the best artwork of the Irish Arts & Crafts Movement (1894-1925). However, socially, the commission was also significant because the project generated much needed work in Cork during the First World War (1914-18). The project fostered the revival of silver and textile craft working, once central to the Cork economy, and supported local firms, through patronage, such as the builders John Sisk & Son. Today Sisk is a construction firm of national importance. Egan’s of Patrick Street continued making liturgical altar plate and textiles until it ceased trading in 1986. As a central figure behind the Honan commission, Rev. Sir John Robert O’Connell was a catalyst in Irish cultural life at the turn of the twentieth century. His collaboration with Sir Bertram Windle between 1914-17 greatly assisted the physical expansion of University College Cork and the revival of craft industry in Cork.

Honan Chapel: artwork and liturgical collection (1916-2006)

The interior is known for its colourful mosaic floor, designed by the firm of Ludwig Oppenheimer in Manchester. Lehmann James Oppenheimer is believed to have designed the Honan Chapel mosaic floor. He died in hospital on 8th November 1916 following a gas attack during the final phases of the Battle of the Somme. The design of the floor focuses on the Christian theme of the "River of Life", the tabernacle with enamels by Oswald Reeves and, most famously, the stained glass windows of Harry Clarke and Sarah Purser's studio. The St. Gobnait window on the north side of the chapel was nearly destroyed during the Easter Rising in Dublin. Changes in the liturgy, brought about by Vatican II, gave opportunities for a new generation of artists to decorate the Honan Chapel between 1983 and 2001. Imogen Stuart designed the altar, ambo, priest's chair and baptismal font. Hangings were designed by Evelyn Ross and Kim En Joong. The organ was built by Kenneth Jones, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Music plays a central part in the celebration of the liturgy in the chapel. Sunday liturgy is accompanied by invited choirs. There is sung morning prayer during Advent and Lent. The chapel also hosts concerts throughout the year. A specially commissioned Honan Mass, composed by John O’Brien, was celebrated in the chapel on Holy Thursday, April 13th 2006.

In recent years the Honan Chapel has undergone conservation work. The nineteen stained glass windows have been cleaned and restored by Abbey Stained Glass Studio in Dublin. Conservation work has been carried out on the stone fabric of the building. Such work is necessary to preserve this unique and historically important testament to Irish Arts & Crafts in general and to the Cork movement in particular. Richard Hurley and Associates Architects Hurley and Associates Architects, 1 Mount Street Crescent Dublin 2 Ireland, won an RIAI Conservation Medal, Special Commendation for their work on the conservation and re-ordering of Honan Chapel.

Honan Chapel: serving a living faith community

On Sunday 23rd January 2000, the Right Reverend Paul Colton, Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross were invited by Bishop John Buckley to give an address at Mass in the Honan Chapel for Christian Unity. The visit underlined a significant ecumenical gesture.

In 2004, Cork University Press published "The Honan Chapel: A Golden Vision" by Virginia Teehan and Elizabeth Wincott Heckett. This is the first major study of the Honan Chapel and its liturgical collection. This work arose out of "The Craftsman's Honoured Hand". This was a seminar on the Honan Chapel and its Collection hosted by University College Cork held on Saturday, 29th January, 2000. It was organised by Virginia Teehan and Elizabeth Wincott Heckettwith the support of the Chairman and Board of Governors, Honan Trust, and the University Heritage Office, University College, Cork.

In 2006, the Dean of the Honan Chapel, Rev. Seosamh A. Ó Cochláin, commissioned a website to mark the 90th anniversary of the dedication of the Honan Chapel, on 5th November 1916. The Honan Chapel & Collection Online http://honan.ucc.ie aims to build upon recent scholarship by promoting awareness of the chapel and its liturgical collection. It features new essays on the chapel and its collection linked to a comprehensive image gallery and a virtual tour of the chapel. The site also includes image downloads and a discussion forum.

Weddings in the Honan Chapel

Despite the decline in church attendance in Ireland, the Honan Chapel is still popular for weddings. Former students of the university and members of staff are permitted to marry in the chapel. The Chapel does not receive funding from the public, the University or from Church sources and is dependent for its upkeep on the fee for marriage set by the Governors of the Chapel. The current fee is €500. Enquiries and bookings can be made by contacting: Honan Chapel Office, tel. [phone] email. [e-mail].

ources and links

Text by James G. R. Cronin, University College Cork, e-mail [e-mail]

Chaplaincy, University College Cork http://www.ucc.ie/iona/honan.html.

The Honan Chapel & Collection Online http://honan.ucc.ie.

"The Craftsman's Honoured Hand": A Seminar on the Honan Chapel and its Collection, Saturday, 29th January, 2000 University College Cork http://www.ucc.ie/heritage

"The Honan Chapel: A Golden Vision" by Virginia Teehan and Elizabeth Wincott Heckett (Cork University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-85918-346-8 is available from the CUP website http://www.corkuniversitypress.com.

Photographic credits:

Honan Chapel, Cork (James Cronin, 2006)

Sundisc on the mosaic floor designed by L.Oppenheimer, Manchester (Daniel C. Doolan, 2006)