By Sean Ryan - 18 November, 2017
A new stained-glass window on the theme of reconciliation has been unveiled in St. John’s Catholic Church, Tralee by the Bishop of Kerry Dr. Ray Browne, and the Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe & Ardfert, Rt. Rev. Kenneth Kearon.
It is the first stained glass window to be installed in St. John’s in 60 years and was a joint undertaking by the Catholic and Church of Ireland communities in Tralee. The window which is five metres high and three metres wide, depicts Jesus reading from the Book of Isaiah and St. John the Baptist, Patron of the parish.
The window was crafted by stained glass artist Tom Denny, a direct descendant of the Denny’s of Tralee Castle, twenty of whose members travelled from England for the unveiling ceremony.
The project was more than five years in the planning and was conceived as a Tralee 800 project for the town’s Octo-centenary celebrations and the Year of Mercy in 2016” according to Fr. Tadhg Fitzgerald, Parish Priest of St. John’s. He said, ‘’The installation of the new Window of Reconciliation adds further enhancement to St John’s’’. He added, ‘’We are delighted and honoured to have Tom Denny execute this new Window of Reconciliation. One of the main features of this fascinating stained glass window is that it serves to reconcile our past with our present’’.
The window contains over 30 individual figures and includes scenes from Tralee’s history, Tralee Bay and the Slieve Mish Mountains. St. John’s is famous for its works of art – including the Great Sanctuary Window (1861) by Michael O’ Connor, various stained glass works by Earley Brothers, Richard King and Patrick Pollen. The Stations of the Cross are by Sean Keating RHA.
The last window was installed by Dean Reidy as part of a massive programme of renovation in the 1950s.
