Rare 15th century Irish chalice on display at Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany

A rare Irish chalice dating back to the 15th century is on display at the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, New York.

The gilt chalice, which was looted and taken to England following the Reformation in the 16th century, is currently on a tour of the US after being purchased by Irish entrepreneur Martin Dunphy, who brought the chalice back to Ireland after it was discovered in a barn in Dorset, England.

The rare Irish chalice was auctioned in 2021 by the UK-based Duke's Fine Art Auctions.

The Irish American Heritage Museum in upstate New York is the first museum in the US to display the chalice, which was recently used to celebrate mass by Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC.

Elizabeth Stack, the executive director of the Irish American Heritage Museum, told the Times Union that the chalice is "important to the Irish story."

"A lot of these objects were lost during the Reformation. To be able to display one in America is very exciting," Stack said.

"Even though this is a very simple chalice, it is a great example of the craftsmanship that existed in Ireland in the time. It shows the determination of Irish Catholicism to survive despite the brutality of the monasteries and the Reformation."

The chalice dates back to 1480 and is one of the few surviving chalices from the era, the museum said.

The chalice, which will remain in the Irish American Heritage Museum until the end of May before being moved on to several other institutions, will be featured during the online lecture "Monastic Life in Pre-Reformation Ireland" with Dr. Małgorzata Krasnodębska-D'Aughton, Senior Lecturer at the School of History in University College Cork, on April 26.

It is not the only Irish chalice with a connection to the US.

Last year, a 400-year-old Irish chalice was returned to Leitrim after being discovered in Cincinnati in 2017,

The Muintir Eolais Chalice, which has been described as the "wandering symbol of Irish faith", was given to the Jamestown Franciscan Friary in south County Leitrim in 1644.

Jamestown fell to Cromwellian forces less than 10 years later on March 19, 1653, and the religious order was ordered to leave the county.

However, the priests took to the woods and mountains to perform mass in secret during Oliver Cromwell's invasion, taking the chalice with them.

It is not known how the chalice ended up in the US, but it is believed that the Franciscans brought it to Santa Fe or Albuquerque in the years after the Irish Famine.

The chalice was later discovered in the Mount Saint Joseph convent of the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati, Ohio.