300-year-old silver chalices return to Galway after a century in England

A pair of nearly 300-year-old Galway silver chalices made by Richard Joyce in 1730 and 1731, which had been in England for over a century, have returned to Galway. Marking their homecoming, Mass was celebrated in the Poor Clare Monastery Chapel on June 26, ahead of the chalices going on public display at Galway City Museum.

“Their presence at Mass before being placed on public view was especially fitting,” the Diocese of Clonfert and Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora said in a statement. “These chalices were made for the celebration of the sacred liturgy. Before being admired as works of Galway silver, they were brought once more into the prayer of the Church.”

Agreeing with the diocese, Sr Colette, Mother Abbess of the Poor Clare community, spoke at the end of Mass about the importance of the chalices’ presence. The Poor Clares were already in Galway at the time Richard Joyce was crafting these chalices with the sole intent of being used at Mass.

In his homily, Bishop Michael Duignan said he was “struck by the presence here of the historic chalices”. The bishop said the silver items are “venerable in their age” and are connected with “the events and times of our own history here in Ireland.”

Bishop Duignan continued, “However, most of all, their existence comes from that human desire to connect with God. They were formed and shaped, crafted to serve the sacred liturgy. To be receptacles of the divine.”

The Richard Joyce silver display at Galway City Museum runs from July 2026 until March 2027.