St Patrick's Cathedral (Church of Ireland)

Church of Ireland cathedral on the hill where Saint Patrick founded his first church

The Church of Ireland St Patrick's Cathedral occupies the hilltop where Saint Patrick established his principal church in the 5th century, making it one of the oldest continuously sacred sites in Ireland. The current building is mostly the result of a major Victorian restoration in the 1830s, though medieval fabric survives and the crypt contains stonework that predates the Norman conquest.

The cathedral is austere inside in the best Irish Protestant tradition — spare, grey, and dignified — with some fine medieval carvings and memorials. The hill on which it stands gives excellent views over the city and across to the Catholic cathedral on the facing hilltop, the unusual twin-cathedral skyline that defines Armagh's silhouette.

Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland who defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, was buried here at his own direction. His grave is marked in the north wall of the nave. The cathedral is open to visitors daily; donations welcome.

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A story
The site has had a church on it since the 5th century, when Saint Patrick is said to have built his first stone church in Ireland here — choosing the hill above a rath (ring fort) belonging to a local chief called Daire. The current cathedral retains some medieval fabric beneath extensive Victorian restoration. Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, was buried here after the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, and his grave remains marked in the cathedral grounds.