The story of Down Cathedral
A monastic community sat on this hill above the Quoile from the Celtic church period, the early buildings likely timber. St Fergus is recorded as the first bishop of Down around the end of the sixth century, and in 1124 St Malachy became bishop and set about enlarging the church. The dedication to the Holy Trinity was first recorded in the 12th century.
In 1177 the Norman conqueror John de Courcy brought in Benedictine monks, the Black Monks, and expelled the older community. The present cathedral incorporates parts of the 13th-century church of his Benedictine Abbey of Down. The monastery was dissolved in 1541 and the building fell into ruin, where it stayed for the better part of two and a half centuries.
Restoration came after the Down Cathedral Act of 1790, which granted £1,000 toward rebuilding. The cathedral reopened for divine service on 23 August 1818, and the tower was finally consecrated in 1829, giving the Georgian Gothic interior with its box pews that visitors see today. A further major restoration ran from 1985 to 1987, when the cathedral was closed.
The famous grave slab is younger than it looks. The inscribed Mourne granite stone marking St Patrick's reputed burial place was put in place in 1900, set in the churchyard to mark the tradition that Ireland's patron saint was buried on this hill.