County Carlow
Religious statues in Co. Carlow
Carlow is a small county with a long Catholic memory: the cathedral of a diocese that reaches into seven counties, and at St Mullins a pattern day at St Moling’s well, beside the monastery he founded in the seventh century.
The cathedral and the diocese
Carlow town is the seat of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, and its Cathedral of the Assumption is the mother church for parishes in seven counties — Carlow, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Wexford. A cathedral dedicated to the Assumption makes 15 August a parish feast as well as a holy day, and it gives Our Lady taken up into heaven a special place in the county.
Old Leighlin, a few miles west of the town, was the original seat of the diocese and is still linked with St Laserian, its founder.
Places of pilgrimage in the county
St Mullins and St Moling’s well
In the south of the county, beside the Barrow, St Moling founded a monastery in the seventh century. The pattern is held on the Sunday nearest the feast of St James (25 July): it begins at the holy well by the river and climbs to the old graveyard for Mass, and many pilgrims still bathe their feet in the water. St Moling’s own feast is 17 June.
Old Leighlin
The old cathedral site and St Laserian’s well are a quieter place of prayer, much visited by families with roots in the diocese.
Which statues suit
For a home in Carlow, the familiar choices hold: the Sacred Heart in the kitchen, Our Lady of Grace on the landing, St Joseph for a young family. For a home or parish that keeps the cathedral’s feast, there is Our Lady of the Assumption in hand-carved marble.
Many Carlow graves and farm gardens have a small shrine. For anything that will live outdoors, marble is the material we suggest; read how to care for an outdoor statue before you choose a spot by the Barrow damp.
Statues to consider in Carlow
Questions from Carlow
How much is delivery to Co. Carlow?
Resin statues go by post to any address in Co. Carlow for a flat €15 per order, however many statues are in the parcel. Marble is too heavy for the post, so we deliver it ourselves; the delivery charge for each marble statue is shown on its own page before you order. Most of the county is a straightforward run for us, and we will agree a day with you before we set out.
Do you have a statue of St Moling or St Laserian?
Not in the catalogue. Early Irish saints are rarely made as stock statues, but we can look at a made-to-order carving and give you a price before anything is started.
Can a parish order for a pattern day or a feast?
Yes. Tell us the date you are working to and we will tell you honestly whether it can be met. For a marble statue for an outdoor shrine, allow time for delivery and for the base to be ready.
Choosing a statue for Carlow?
Tell us where the statue will stand and roughly how tall it should be, and we will tell you plainly what suits. WhatsApp or ring +353 85 285 1015, or write to [email protected].
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Religious statues in Ireland
Statues of Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints for the home, the parish and the garden — hand-painted resin and hand-carved marble, delivered to every county in Ireland.
Kildare
Kildare is Brigid’s town — Cill Dara, the church of the oak — where she founded her monastery and where her flame is again kept alight. It is also home to Ireland’s national seminary at Maynooth.
Wexford
Every year from the Assumption on 15 August to Our Lady’s birthday on 8 September, pilgrims come to Our Lady’s Island in the south of the county. Wexford also has Pugin’s great cathedral at Enniscorthy.
Outdoor statues in Irish weather
Ireland is kind to stone in some ways and hard on it in others. Rain is constant, frost comes and goes, and wind off the Atlantic finds anything not fixed down. A little care at the start and once a year does most of the work.