Call for ‘Christy Ring chalice’ to be donated to Cork museum

A call has been made for a chalice, the base of which is partly comprised of one of Christy Ring’s All-Ireland senior hurling medals, to be donated to the Cork Public Museum in Fitzgerald’s Park.

That chalice was used last Sunday by Fr Paddy O’Reilly to celebrate the Augustinian Order’s final Mass in Cork, which was attended by a congregation of more than 2,000 parishioners.

When Christy Ring lived on the Grand Parade, he was a daily communicant in St Augustine’s Church.

In 1954, parishioners including Christy Ring, donated precious metals and stones to decorate the church’s Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel. When the materials were melted down, enough remained to fashion an ornate chalice.

Mr Ring’s All-Ireland medal was used to form part of the chalice base.

Pádraig O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, has called for the chalice to be donated to the Cork Public Museum.

“It should remain in Cork, where its story began, and it should be displayed in a museum that is free and easily accessible to the people of Cork city,” he said.

At Sunday’s Mass, however, Fr O’Reilly suggested that Christy Ring’s eighth All-Ireland medal may soon be reunited with its seven siblings, possibly in the GAA museum at Croke Park.