The building of this Cathedral began in 1028, following the pilgrimage to Rome by Sigtrygg Silkbeard, the Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin at that time. Originally it was a timber building and its formal name was the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Its first abbot was Dúnán. His successor introduced the Benedectines in the cathedral, and in 1163 it was converted into a priory for the Regular Order of the arrosian Canons. A few years later Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, also known as Strongbow, along with other wealthy Normans, helped to fund a full rebuilding of the church in stone to replace the timber structure. During the rebuilding it was decided to add a choir, two aisles, the transepts and the crypt. At his death, Richard de Clare was interred in the cathedral.
The foundations of the nave, though, were sitting on a peat bed and in 1562 this part of the church slipped on a side and brought the south wall and the arched stone roof down with it. The tomb of Strongbow was destroyed under the collapsed building.
The cathedral was partially rebuilt in the following years, but the most extensive restoration was carried out after 1871 when several sections of the church were completely rebuilt.
The current Strongbow's tomb is a replacement and apparently it doesn't show the real effigy of the Lord of Leinster, nor does it show him in his coat of arms. The remains of Richard de Clare were translated and buried in the graveyard of the cathedral of Ferns.
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