St Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea, Co Galway - one of the finest ecclesiastical symbols of the Celtic revival - has broken with convention once again.
The master craftsman, Thomas Glendon, has been commissioned to complete interior stonework dating back a century.
An eagle with Aztec resonance, a ship carrying Irish missionaries into the setting sun, and "shopping for the Last Supper" at a contemporary Irish market stall replete with garlic, onions and aubergines are among the images which Mr Glendon has carved out of the unfinished plasterwork in the cathedral's southern sanctuary.
The commission was approved by Bishop John Kirby of Clonfert and Father Cathal Geraghty to mark the centenary of St Brendan's Cathedral. "Both gave me the latitude to explore my own images, which tend to have contemporary connections," Mr Glendon said.
Loughrea Cathedral is best known for its stained-glass windows, created by An Túr Gloinne co-operative established by Edward Martyn and Sarah Purser under the tutelage of an English artist, A.E. Childe. It involved Purser, Evie Hone, Michael Healy, Hubert McGoldrick and Catherine O'Brien - all of whom have works in the cathedral.
However, the interior also reflects many other art forms, including the stonework by a carver, Michael Shortall, who completed 46 panels and 18 corbels early in the last century.
"This tradition died out over 70 years ago, and there is nothing quite like the quality of this work in any other ecclesiastical building in Ireland," according to Mr Glendon.
Shortall had completed portraits of the apostles Matthew and Mark at the northern end of the cathedral, but the panels assigned to Luke and John were left blank to allow for an extension to the sanctuary. As St Luke is the patron saint of artists, Mr Glendon's relief work includes a panel with a pair of hands holding an artist's impression of the Madonna and Child.
"I felt I had to deal with the role of the Catholic Church in the 20th century,which is why I also have a ship carrying missionaries abroad," Mr Glendon added.
Mr Glendon, who trained with his father in Deansgrange and served under Michael Biggs, one of the leading stonecarvers of the time, worked in Limerick and Shannon and has exhibited widely. He set up a workshop in Bray, Co Wicklow, in 1982. He now intends to spend a year in Loughrea.
