“Truly and sincerely Irish”?: The medieval sources for the architecture of the Honan Chapel

The Honan Chapel at University College Cork, the art of which forms the centerpiece of this exhibition, was one of the most historicist of Celtic Revival churches. The writings of John O’Connell, the lawyer for the Honan family trust who was the main driver behind the project, provide us with a unique opportunity to analyze the design choices of those responsible for commissioning such churches. They show how, inspired by recent antiquarian work and responding to cultural nationalist imperatives, he set out to revive a medieval architectural style—the Hiberno-Romanesque—which he considered to be “truly and sincerely Irish.” This essay will approach the Honan Chapel primarily from the perspective of its medieval models. It will focus on architecture, rather than mosaics and stained glass, although it will also look briefly at the sculpture. And it will consider not only the models themselves, but also the ideas they were believed to embody, both in the medieval period and at the turn of the twentieth century.