Churches and Religious Buildings

Church of Christ the King

Church of Christ the King
Cork Camera Club collection, Cork City Libraries

Christ the King Church in Turner's Cross was designed by the architect Barry Byrne of Chicago. The design of the church was revolutionary for its time, and it is generally regarded as the first Catholic church in the modern style in Ireland. It is built from reinforced concrete and the exterior of the church is dominated by a sculpture of Christ with outstretched arms. The entrance tower of the church is 100 feet high. The interior of the church has no pillars so that the congregation has an uninterrupted view of the altar from all sides. The altar is the focal point of the church.

John Maguire sculpted the figure of Christ from a design by John Storrs, an American sculptor. The supervising architect was J. R. Boyd-Barrett and the building work was carried out by a Cork firm, John Buckley. Bishop Daniel Cohalan consecrated the church on 25th October 1931. After restoration work was carried out on the church, it was rededicated in 2002.