North Cork group seeks to bring 'missing' Irish chalice back from UK — on loan

A rare 16th-century chalice linked to the deaths of two priests may finally return from London to Cork

Friends of the Mount Keefe Chalice Katherine Walshe and Morti O'Keeffe at the monument to mark the spot where the two murdered priests are buried, near the Chalice Tree in north Cork. Picture: Neil Michael

It may not be as old as Ireland’s most famous religious artefacts but a chalice that two priests died trying to protect more than 200 years ago is certainly one of its most mysterious.

This is because nobody is quite sure about how the Mount Keefe Chalice ended up in the estate of a controversial Cork City antiquarian and photographer who collaborated with one of Ireland’s most notorious forgers.