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held belief of the people was that Fr. Kieran Kilroe, the parish priest, was himself the contractor. Fr. Kilroe definitely involved a lot of voluntary labour in the construction of the church, and many people can tell of the work that their forebears performed, giving freely of their services, often after a day's work.
The church was opened in October 1861, after an estimated cost of £14,000, and "from every part of the surrounding country crowds flocked in… and gave it the appearance of a continental church on a great festival". Also present were Dr. Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin, the Archbishop of Clonfert, and the Bishops of Meath, Galway and Limerick.
Within 4 years, both priests of the parish--Fr. Kilroe, P.P, and Fr. Dardis, C.C, - had died (16th and 12th July, respectively), to the grief of the parishioners. It was generally considered that the health of both had suffered much during the construction of the church.
There is a fine marble memorial to Fr. Kilroe inside the porch on the right hand side, showing him presenting the church to Our Lady, with Jesus on her knee.
The tower and spire are 180ft high, surmounted by an ornamental cross, and still commands the skyline of Athlone, despite the frenetic building of recent years. St. Mary's is built in the style termed 'Early English', and is a fine example of Gothic architecture, built with locally quarried limestone. It was said to be "one of the best proportioned in the British Isles". The tower has ornamental designs from bottom to top, and much craftsmanship was needed to execute the outer stonework of the church, such as the Corinthian type pillars framing the gallery windows. Cardinal Wiseman regarded the church as being "unsurpassed in the picturesque gracefulness of its exterior, and pleasing general effect of its interior".
Inside, the massive granite cylindrical pillars support ten pointed arches, five each side of the nave, which has an elaborate cross-braced timber roof with decorative openwork hammerbeams, a remarkable architectural achievement.
In Stained glass, four nationalities are involved. The main East window behind the altar depicts the Resurrection, was designed at Amiens, and purchased at the Paris Exhibition of 1878. The large window in the North transept is by Meyres of Munich showing the Sacred Heart, and the corresponding one in the South transept depicting the Assumption, is by Hardman of Birmingham. The windows in the aisles and clerestory are by Earley of Dublin, and were presented by Dr. Curley, Archbishop of Baltimore, a native of the parish. The windows of the mortuary chapel (built in 1939), now the sacristy (since 1974), were by Harry Clarke Studios, Dublin.
A fine organ was purchased from John Whyte, Dublin in 1869, and was extensively renovated in 1946. Some of our oldest parishioners can remember hearing Count John McCormack singing to its accompaniment.
To coincide with the centenary of the church in 1957, the present Stations of the Cross, by George Collie, RHA, were put in place. The centenary was marked by the consecration of St. Mary's.
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