The Magnificent Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral - our connection


What better way to spend my final afternoon in Cork than to honour the ancestors at ground zero - Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, at a service to celebrate the autumn harvest. Listening to the melodious sound of the 4000 pipe organ, possibly the largest in Ireland and thinking of Dad, the aunties and uncles, Granny and the Grandfather I never knew, sitting in these very same pews, listening to the same organ, over 100 years ago. 

Originally the site of a monastery, the use of the site of the Cathedral for worship dates back to the seventh century. Our 3rd great grandparents William and Anne Jane Margaret (nee Delacour) Beamish married in the previous chapel on this site on 21 November 1778. The limestone known as Beaumont Dove limestone used to build the external facade of the existing cathedral was donated by William Beamish from the 120 acre Beamish quarry at Beaumont house (see more at psi.geodata.gov.ie -name of site Beaumont Quarry.)

His business partner William Crawford from Beamish and Crawford brewery was one of the largest financial donors. Whether the donor of limestone was our 3rd great-grandfather or his son also named William Beamish of Beaumont is uncertain.

Every part of the cathedral including the stain glass windows and 1260 pieces of sculpture, was designed by the architectural genius William Burges who won the commission when he was just 35.

St Fin Barre's played an important role in the spiritual life of the Cooke family. The parents of Bartholomew Cooke, William and Bridget Cooke (our great great grandparents) are buried in the grounds of St Fin Barres Cathedral, their descendants are in the newer cemetery on Glasheen Rd. 


Unfortunately records of baptisms, weddings and funerals held at the cathedral are stored in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin and not available online so I will have to wait until my next trip to confirm my suspicion that our grandparents William Cooke and Elizabeth Darkey Stoker were married here and their children baptised in the beautiful baptismal font made of red, green and white marble.










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