St. Mary’s Cathedral

Formerly known as Cathedral and Parochial Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Bridge St, LimerickGoogle Maps

The cathedral was founded in 1168 on the site of a palace donated by Donal Mor O’Brien, King of Munster. It remains one of the oldest and most historic buildings in Limerick.
Its design has elements of both the Romanesque and Gothic styles of architecture.
Since 1994 it has been used as a venue for EVA in ten editions, hosting presentations by a total of 23 Irish and international artists.
This site was one of six venues used for the 31st edition of EVA curated by Klaus Ottmann (b. 1954, Germany) and titled a sense of place. Aura Rosenberg (b. 1949, USA) presented Angels of History: Birds of Paradise (2005), a digital collage that took influence from Paul Klee’s watercolour painting Angelus Novus.
In 1994, for the 18th edition of EVA in 1994, curated by Jan Hoet (b. 1936, Belgium; d. 2014), Berlinde de Bruyckere (b. 1964, Belgium) presented Untitled (1994) at the entrance gates of the cathedral. The work featured two trees wrapped in quilted blankets.
Noreen Ellerker is the Tourism Officer for Saint Mary's Cathedral. Noreen has witnessed many editions of EVA at the Cathedral, and recounts some of her memories in the testimony below. Noreen references Berlinde De Bruyckere's, Untitled, 1994, Karin Giusti's, Safety Net, 1998, and Paolo Canevari's, Adoration, 2002.

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Artwork presented at this venue

Teresa Murak, Lato, 1987, Sculpture for the Earth, Ubbeboda, 1974, Easter Carpet, Kiełczewice, 1974, Labyrinth – an underground space, Warsaw, 1989.

Kian Benson Bailes, Cailleach boy I / II, 2023.