St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191, is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland. With its spire, St. Patrick's is the tallest church (not Cathedral) in Ireland and the largest. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local Cathedral of the diocese of Dublin and Glendalough.
Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral
In April 1862, the Church of Ireland, in pursuit of a larger, more attractive cathedral, and determined to reassert its authority in response to a resurgent Catholicism, initiated a competition for a replacement building, which became the commission for the first cathedral to be built in the British Isles since London's St Paul's. The following February, the designs of the architect William Burges, then 35, were declared the winner of the competition to build the new cathedral. Burges disregarded the £15,000 budget, and produced a design that he estimated would cost twice as much. Despite the protestations of fellow competitors, it won. His diary records his reaction – ""Got Cork!"" – while cathedral accounts mention a payment of £100 as prize money. The foundation stone was laid on 12 January 1865, the unfinished cathedral was consecrated in 1870, and the spires topped out in 1879.