Cormac's chapel

Cormac's chapel at Cashel is the most integral example of Romanesque architecture in Ireland. The chapel is thought to be that built in 1127 by King Cormac Mac Carthaig of Cashel and consecrated with great ceremony in 1134. The stylistic influence of this innovative building is reflected in the remains of many Romanesque buildings throughout Ireland.

Although the steeply pitched stone roof and small scale of the building are typically Irish, other architectural features demonstrate considerable foreign influence, suggesting the involvement of imported labour in its construction. The chapel consists of a nave and chancel, the junction of the two flanked by twin square towers. Towers such as these were otherwise unknown in Ireland, their closest parallels being found in western England and Germany.

Other elements of the building, in particular the profusion and style of carved ornament, exhibit parallels with coeval buildings in south‐west Britain and western France. Wall surfaces are enlivened with string courses, corbel tables, and blank arcading carved with human‐mask and scalloped capitals. The three doorways are lavishly carved with chevron ornament and both the north and south doors sport tympana, a rare feature in contemporary Irish buildings. The rib‐vaulted choir houses the earliest surviving frescos in Ireland.

Rachel Moss