A new shrine to Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, will be blessed in the Cathedral at the 6:00pm mass on Sunday 4 October 2026.
The “Irish Madonna”, also known as “Our Lady of Győr”, was taken from Clonfert Cathedral 350 years ago by Bishop Walter Lynch, who was exiled during the Cromwellian dispossession. He brought the painting from Galway to Győr, in Hungary, where it was placed at a side altar. Bishop Lynch passed away in exile in 1663 and is buried in the vaults of Győr Cathedral.
According to tradition, on St Patrick’s Day 1697, blood miraculously flowed from the painting and was wiped away with a linen cloth, which is now preserved as a relic. An altar dedicated to Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, was later built for the painting.
A copy of the picture was presented to the Diocese of Galway by Bishop András Veres, bishop of Győr, and this forms the centrepiece of the new shrine.