New Stained Glass Window To Be Unveiled At St John’s This Friday

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Return of the Prodigal Son, Luke Chap 15 v11-32, part of the new stained glass window at St John’s to be unveiled this Friday.

A NEW stained glass window – the first in over sixty years – will be unveiled in St. John’s Church, Castle Street, Tralee this Friday evening, October 27 at 7.30pm.

The new Reconciliation Window is a joint endeavour by the Catholic and Church of Ireland communities in Tralee and has been crafted by Tom Denny, a direct descendant of the Dennys of Tralee Castle.

“The project has been more than five years in planning and was conceived as a Tralee 800 project for the town’s Octocentenary celebrations and Year of Mercy in 2016,” according to Fr. Tadhg Fitzgerald, parish priest of St. John’s.

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The window, which is 5 metres high by 3 metres across, has as its central light the Loving Father embracing the Prodigal Son, to the right is Jesus reading from the Book of Isiah and, to the left,  St. John the Baptist, patron of the parish.

The window contains over 30 individual figures and includes scenes from Tralee Bay and the Slieve Mish mountains. Tom Denny has executed over 60 windows across Britain including the Anglican Cathedrals of Hereford, Durham, Gloucester and Leicester.

Bill Looney with Tom Denny who crafted the window.

The blessing and unveiling ceremony will be performed by the Bishop of Kerry, Most Rev. Dr. Ray Browne, and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick & Killaloe, Rt. Rev. Dr. Kenneth Kearon.

St. John’s Tralee is famous for its works of art – including the Great Sanctuary Window (1861) by Michael O’ Connor, various stained glass works by Earley Brother, Richard King and Patrick Pollen. The Stations of the Cross are by Sean Keating, RHA.

St. John the Baptist clothed in camel hair Matt Chap 3 v.4, another part of the window.