Saint Mary's Catholic Church

Saint Mary’s Catholic Church is a fine and imposing building that appears to retain most of its original form and character. Composed on a simple plan, and with elevations of austere detailing, the church is an attractive example of the restrained use of the Gothic Revival style. The church is of social interest as the ecclesiastical centre for the Catholic population in the locality and, having been built through a system of voluntary contribution amongst the parish, the church can be considered an historic artefact, representing the emerging confidence of the Catholic population following Emancipation earlier in the century. The construction of the church in fine materials attests to this emerging confidence, and the stone work in particular represents the high quality of stone masonry traditionally practised in the locality. This is especially evident in the cut-stone detailing that has retained a crisp intricacy, for example the tripartite doorcase that forms the only obvious concession to decorative effect in the composition. The exterior of the church retains most of its original features and materials, including fittings to the openings, and slate roofs having cast-iron rainwater goods, while the interior is similarly preserved. The stained glass fittings to the interior are of some artistic merit, while the construction of the gallery to first floor, together with the open construction to the roof, is of technical or engineering interest. The church is attractively set in its own grounds, the flat quality of which serve to emphasise the monumentality of the design. Complementing the church is a small group of ancillary artefacts that are individually of interest: the tomb covers to the forecourt are of some artistic merit and, again, attest to the high quality of stone masonry in the locality; the belfry is a fine structure of some artistic merit, while the retention of the original mechanisms is of technical interest – elsewhere these have been lost during the conversion to electric power. Saint Mary’s Catholic Church is an important component of the architectural heritage of Garrisker, and can be considered one of a pair with Saint Brigid’s Catholic Church in Clogharinka, its sister church.