The Cathedral of the Assumption, Tuam
Tuam has two cathedrals, and the reason is in the sixteenth century. When Elizabeth I appointed William Mullaly Archbishop of Tuam for the established church, the Catholic clergy lost St Mary's, the fourteenth-century cathedral on the site of an older one. Nearly three hundred years passed before the Penal Laws relaxed enough for a replacement, and the Cathedral of the Assumption is that replacement, the seat of an archdiocese that reaches across half of Galway and Mayo.
Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.
Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Marys Cathedral, Tuam High Cross on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.
Who lies here
Three archbishops are buried at the cathedral: John de Burgh in the Oratory of St Jarlath, John MacHale, the great nineteenth-century archbishop, before the high altar, and Joseph Cunnane in the grounds. The archdiocese takes in half of County Galway, half of County Mayo and part of Roscommon.
The other cathedral
St Mary's, now the Church of Ireland cathedral, stands a few streets away with its twelfth-century chancel arch, and the Tuam High Cross is between them. The model on this page pins both cathedrals and the cross, and the history page for Tuam carries the town's story from Jarlath onward.
Questions people ask
Why does Tuam have two cathedrals?
Who is buried in Tuam Cathedral?
How big is the Archdiocese of Tuam?
Written from Wikipedia, "Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tuam" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.