the ancient cathedral must have been in its original glory and splendour – one of the outstanding cathedrals of its period in Western Europe. The communion silver The earliest pieces of the Communion silver date from the reign of Charles II. During the Cromwellian period, the earlier silver apparently disappeared from Tuam, as occurred in many places, but reappeared later. The present set of silver used in the cathedral is composed of six pieces. Four of the items are pre-1700, but the inscription on two of the items seems to point to a later date. The two oldest pieces are a chalice and a paten. The chalice bears the inscription, Ex dono Revernd mi Patris in Christo Sam Providentia Divina Tuamensis Archieppi & Feneborensis Epis Conaecieq Metropolitani. Its dimensions are 10 inches high and 5 inches diameter. The paten, the surface of which is quite scratched, has the inscription, "Sam Tuamensis", and measures 7.5 inches in diameter. Neither piece is hallmarked. These two items date from the Archbishopric of Samuel Pullen (c. 1660 – 1666). Both the second chalice and the paten are hallmarked and bear the inscription, Ecclesiae Cathedralis Stae Mariae Tuamensis 1678. The dimensions of the chalice are 10 inches high with a diameter of 5.5 inches, with the paten measuring 7.5 inches in diameter. There is also a cover for the chalice. These two items date from the Archbishopric of John Vesey (c. 1678 – 1716), There are also two flagons with a similar inscription, Ex dono Viri Venerabilis Honorabilis Thoma Vesey, Episcopi Laonensis Equitis Aurati quondam Archdiaconi Tuamensis in Usum Ecclesiac Cathedralis do Tuam & Gloriam SS & Individuae Trinitatis. These hallmarked flagons are 10 inches high and 7 inches in diameter. One flagon is in good order but the other is somewhat damaged. Burials Nehemiah Donnellan William Daniel Samuel Pullen Jemmett Browne See also Dean of Tuam List of cathedrals in Ireland Bibliography Higgins, Jim, and Parsons, Aisling (eds.) St Mary's Cathedral, Church of Ireland, Tuam: Restoration & History (Tuam, Friends of St Mary's Cathedral, 1995) Claffey, John A., 'The restoration of St Mary's Cathedral 1863–78', in Claffey, John A. (ed.), Glimpses of Tuam since the famine (Tuam: Old Tuam Society, 1997) 79–88 References External links Parish News for St Mary's Cathedral at tuam.anglican.org Exterior of the Cathedral 12th-century churches in Ireland 14th-century churches in Ireland Churches completed in 1878 Anglican cathedrals in the Republic