[4] A confrontational situation persisted, with considerable tension, over the decades after the establishment of St Patrick's, and was eventually settled, more or less, by the signing of a six-point agreement of 1300, Pacis Compositio.

[5] Comyn's charter of 1191 or 1192, which allowed for a chapter of thirteen canons, of which three held special dignities (as chancellor, precentor and treasurer), was confirmed by a papal bull (of Pope Celestine III) within a year.

The basis of the present building, as noted, the largest church in Ireland, was built between 1191 and 1270, though little now remains of the earliest work beyond the baptistry.

An order from King Henry III in 1225 allowed the collection of donations from across the island for reconstruction for a period of four years, and the work, in the Early English Gothic style, lasted at least until rededication in 1254.

In 1311 the Medieval University of Dublin was founded here with William de Rodyard, Dean of St Patrick's, as its first Chancellor, and the Canons as its members.

In the 1530s some images within the cathedral were defaced by soldiers under Thomas Cromwell,[clarification needed] and neglect led to the collapse of the nave in 1544.

Under King Edward VI, St Patrick's Cathedral was formally suppressed and the building was demoted back to the status of a parish church.

In 1555 a charter of the joint monarchs Philip and Mary restored the cathedral's privileges[11] and initiated restoration and a late document of Queen Mary's reign, a deed dated 27 April 1558, comprises a release or receipt by Thomas Leverous, the new dean, and the chapter of St Patrick's, of the "goods, chattels, musical instruments, etc.

By the early 17th century, the Lady Chapel was said to have been in ruins, and the arch at the east end of the choir was closed off by a lath and plaster partition wall.

[12] During the stay of Oliver Cromwell in Dublin, during his conquest of Ireland the Commonwealth's Lord Protector stabled his horses in the nave of the cathedral.

In 1666, the cathedral chapter offered the Lady Chapel for the use of French-speaking Huguenots who had fled to Ireland, and after some repair and preparation works, it became known as L'Eglise Française de St Patrick.

However, the victory of the Protestant Williamites in this war meant that the cathedral was restored to Anglican ownership in 1690 when James abandoned Dublin after his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne.

Swift took a great interest in the building, its services and music and in what would now be called social welfare, funding an almshouse for poor women and Saint Patrick's Hospital.

In 1792, divine service was temporarily suspended due to the poor condition of the south wall, then 60 centimetres (2 feet) out of perpendicular, and of parts of the roof.

The Lady Chapel was restored, the floor (then raised several metres) reduced to its original level and other urgent matters were at least partly addressed.

The major reconstruction, paid for by Benjamin Guinness, in 1860–65, and inspired by the fear that the cathedral was in imminent danger of collapse, means that much of the current building and decoration dates from the Victorian era; medieval chantries were removed among other actions, and few records of the work survive today.

His son Arthur (also a brewer) came in for humorous but gentle criticism when he donated a stained glass window of 'Rebecca at the well'; its motto read: 'I was thirsty and ye gave me drink'.

In 1901 his son Edward created the adjacent "St Patrick's Park" from an area of decrepit housing, and donated a new set of bells to the cathedral.

At President Hyde's funeral, the whole of the Irish government and opposition contingent, but for Childers and Noel Browne, stayed in the foyer of the church.

The attendance included foreign dignitaries King Baudouin of Belgium, Vice-President of the United States Spiro T. Agnew (representing President Richard Nixon), Earl Mountbatten of Burma (representing Queen Elizabeth II), British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and former British prime minister Edward Heath.

In 2006, the cathedral's national prominence was used by a group of 18 Afghan migrants seeking asylum, who occupied it for several days before being persuaded to leave without trouble.

According to the Constitution of the Church of Ireland, the dean is the "immediate ordinary of the cathedral for the purpose of directing the clergy and official and ordering the services".

"[20] The members of the chapter, which today represents in part the whole Church of Ireland, hold one of four dignities or special offices, or one of 24 prebends (22 regular, 2 ecumenical as noted below).

[25] As noted above, in late June and early July 2007, Saint Patrick's appointed two ecumenical canons, one Presbyterian and one Roman Catholic, who can be invited by the dean to say Morning or Evening Prayer in the cathedral, read holy scripture and assist at baptisms, marriages, funerals or celebration of Holy Communion as well as participating in the meetings and decisions of the chapter.

It was outside St Patrick's that the troops of the Jacob's Garrison assembled after the Easter Rising to march to Richmond Barracks, where their leader Thomas MacDonagh and his sub-officers John MacBride and Michael O'Hanrahan were condemned to death and moved to Kilmainham Gaol to be shot.