
Recently discovered in a cardboard box and auctioned in the UK, the chalice will be the subject of a lecture at the Princess Grace Irish Library by Dr Krasnodębska-D’Aughton, University College Cork (UCC), on Wednesday January 22, at 7pm.
Meet old and new friends at the library and discover the mystery behind one of the few remaining chalices from the 15th century.
Earlier in January, the Ó Learghusa Chalice was used to celebrate mass in the private chapel of the Prince’s Palace in Monaco in the presence of Prince Albert II and the Princess of Hanover. And, as Paula Farquharson, director of the Princess Grace Irish Library, points out, it was the first time that mass was celebrated in Europe with the chalice for centuries.
“Before King Henry VIII’s divorce led to the reformation and forced the Catholic Church in Ireland to go underground, this medieval chalice was used in friaries and monasteries in Ireland,” explains Paula.
“Later such religious items were either hidden or sent to mainland Europe for safekeeping. Many didn’t survive and were melted down for their silver and gold. This lecture has all the excitement of a turbulent era in history and the audience will have the unique opportunity to see this rare chalice for one evening only before it goes to Ireland for permanent display at Kylemore Abbey.”
Since its purchase in 2021, the chalice has featured in articles and on television in the United States, where it has also gone on exhibition at top universities.

Dr D’Aughton is a Senior Lecturer in the School of History, UCC, who specialises in the cultural and religious history of the Middle Ages. She has published internationally on the Irish mendicant orders, liturgical silver, Irish illuminated manuscripts as well as on manuscripts in Polish libraries.
Tickets €10 (includes a drink after the 45-minute talk) available at the door or online.
While at the library, make sure you check out 40th Anniversary Princess Grace Irish Library: A Tribute To Princess Grace of Monaco (2024; Éditions Des Archives Du Palais De Monaco.) The 128-page limited-edition commemorative book will take you on a journey of discovery about Princess Grace from Ireland to America and to Monaco.
It was presented to Prince Albert II and the Princess of Hanover on November 20, 2024, exactly 40 years to the day they inaugurated the Princess Grace Irish Library in the presence of their father Prince Rainier III.
The book is not available to purchase but a copy can be viewed at the library, or download a digital version at http://www.pgil.mc. QR codes lead readers to emotive performances by musicians and students from the Académie Rainier III in Monaco and Technological University Dublin, conservatoire, as well as a special music piece composed by Michael Flatley, titled The Princess Grace Set.

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