Saint John's Catholic Church

The Church of St. John the Baptist, Tralee is a 19th century Gothic-Revival Church. It places emphasis on height and pointed features for example the spire, pointed arces, lancet windows and the Baldacchino over the main altar. The body of the tower is local sandstone, and the octogonal spire is in limestone. In 1854 the foundation stone of St. John's Church was laid on the site of a chapel dating back to 1780. The 'Chapel' faced in the east-west direction. Some artifacts of the 1780 chapel have survived - the Holy Water font (Mortuary Chapel), Our Lady of the Wayside statue (near front porch on the outside), and the gables of the 18th century building, which are contained in the transepts of the present church. The building was completed, to the design of J.J. McCarthy, in 1861 with the erection of the Great Sanctuary window. In 1870 the tower and spire were added. The height of the spire is 200 feet. In 1960 the church took its present form after a major 10 year renovation scheme. A thirty foot extension was added to the Nave: the internal walls were stripped of their plaster and revealed stone was pointed. The 1990's saw a reordering of the sanctuary.