reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches

The plot thickens:

RKD says that it was responsible for the building of Lusk Church and also that they built Galway Cathedral. All very interesting, you might say, until they drop the bomb that THEY were the ones who not only wrecked Dingle church but partially demolished it ! They even have a picture of the ruins of Dingle Church on their web page:

http://www.rkd.ie/rkd.html

Click on “Practice”, click on “Previous work”, click on “1960s”

Here is Dingle. Note the half demolished gables. Over twenty feet was removed from the gables – for no obvious liturgical reason!! Sheer vandalism…

The website is a wonderful thumbnail illustration of the decline, nay demise, of ecclesiastical architetcure in Ireland in the 20th. century.

I wonder was yer man thinking of knocking a few feet of the gables of Cobh Cathedral when, as we are told, the HACK unanimously approved the “scholarly” work clapped together by Danny Murphy to wreck the Cathedral interior?

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. Cork

Here is an interesting photograph from the web. It shows the extent of the building site that is on this property while “modest” repairs are being being made to it. Just note the huts and stacks of building material ranged along the left hand side of the drive leading tot he church. In all, rumour has it that over one million Euro has been spent on the “modest” repairs – all carried out without a planning application!

@Gianlorenzo wrote:

YES YES YES

YES

@Praxiteles wrote:

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. Cork

Here we have a picture taken some years ago of the east window in Kanturk church. Its interest for us today is th figure of the Cross in the lower centre. This is the cross on the pinnacle of the reredos of the High Altar. Evidently, the height of the reredos when this picture was taken was such that the cross reached as far as the lower stages of the east window.

During the works that took place recently in Kanturk, it would appear that some interference was made with the reredos of the High Altar, the cross of which no longer seems to reach as far as the glazing of the window. It is also noticeable that the Reredos, into which the antependium of the altar mensa has been submerged, now stands on the liturgically maladroit arrangement of a predella raised on TWO steps. It is also noticeable that two hand rails have been affixed to the east wall behind the reredos. These, however, terminate several inches beyond the reredos itself and are visible from the sanctuary gate – something not quite aestethical.

If the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Kanturk is supposed to be a protected structure, how can all of this work have gone on without planning permission?

Far too much freewheeling in Kanturk, obviously. Quis custodit custodes?

@Praxiteles wrote:

The Church of St. Lachteen, Stuake, Donoughmore, Co. Cork

Here we have two views of St. Lachteen’s church which replaced an 1830s church on the same site in the late 1990s. The architect on this exdedition was John Lynch, of McCarthy and Lynch, now RKD (Cork).

Clearly, the exterior exhibits an imaginative apotheosis of the suburban bungalow.

The interior, on the other hand, shows all the weaker and none of the better traces of the Schwarz abberation and the German post-war Notkirche phenomenon – except of course nobody bombed old St. Lachteen’s into requiring a temporary shelter with low walls until something better could be done with it.

The RKD site also mentions something about that firm’s paying particular attention to interiors, their decoration, art works and the psychology of colour. I wonder if that might not be the source for the awful wall-hanging behind the altar which, like Killavullen, has displaced the Cross?

Of the modern churches built in the diocese of Cloyne since 1960, this probably manages to be the very, very, very worst! Where is Lachteen when you need him?

P.S His shrine is in the National Museum and was in the hereditary custody of the Healys until something went wrong in the early 19th century.

YUKKO!! What a wretched interior for a church. How depressing. As Voltaire once said, “Ecrasez l’infame!” Please do.

Why doesn’t the Cloyne HACK spend its energies on that thing? “Francis, rebuild my church!”

Re the Cloyne HACK

We have finally been able to to a face to a name! A web trawl threw up the following for John Lynch!

Killarney Cathedral; as is well known, the interior is ruined beyond description. There’s currently a fundraising drive to conserve the fabric of the building. hah! They could sell some of those flat screen televisions littered all over the church.
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Some of the surviving fragments.
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In contrast, the protestant church in Killarney actually resembles a house of Christian worship and has some wonderful glass.
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@Praxiteles wrote:

Ake!

As always, very nice shots.

The only thing that causes me to wonder is why they have not started to build bungalows and glass towers all over the medows surrounding the Cathedral in Killarney. That is all that would be needed to finished off the almost total saccage of the place!

Don’t give them any more ideas!
So, ake reminds us, they have littered the Catholic cathedral in Killarney with flat plasma screen televisions? How disgusting!

The Vandals are no longer at the gates – as they were in the last days of St Augustine of Hippo (d. AD 430) in North Africa – they are in the next aisle – WATCHING TV!

IS THERE ANYTHING MORE ABSOLUTELY ASININE THAN THAT???

Do these tellies pass for “living icons”? Are they showing reruns of “Father Ted,” “Ballykissangel,” or “Bless Me, Father!” between Masses? Why not simply put on “Ben Hur” and “The Ten Commandments” for Lent and Holy Week? There is some function whereby the film simply plays and replays continually.

Perhaps they should consider playing Morris West’s “The Agony and the Ecstasy” to remind them of the energy and creativity that go into the production of a truly great house of worship. With this lot, though, only an M-G-M all-singing, all-dancing, Busby Berkley superextravaganza would penetrate their thick skulls. Quick! Someone from this thread should anticipate the upcoming biography of AWN Pugin (God’s Architect, August 2007) by writing just such a screenplay – something peppy along the lines of “The Jolson Story” – — why not “The Pugin Story?” Then follow it up with a sequel about his son, Edward Pugin: “Pugin Sings Again!”

If popular interest demands a theatrical version of the film, it could be staged in St Mary’s, Dublin – now a pub. Nothing like dinner-theatre in a church to inspire true piety.

I get first dibs on writing the musical stage play for Pugin’s Treatise on Rood Screens. I leave Prax to provide the score for Pointed or Christian Architecture. Dublin’s Abbey Theatre – look out!!

Is anyone interested in playing Sir Ninian Comper?

@Praxiteles wrote:

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. Cork

To return to the question of the recent alteratiosn effected on the sacristy door of this church, it appears that the practice of eliminating steps from historical entrances is, for some strange reason. widespread. Here is an example from St. Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney, Co. Kerry.

Was this done in order to accommodate wheelchairs?

To return to the question of our little poll re the Cloyne HACK, I have to note that after nearly a week NOBODY has lifted a finger to suggest that the Cloyne HACK should not do the decent thing and RESIGN. ALL who voted throught the HACK should go – and several were emphatic in that view.

So…..HACK, what are you waiting for. Start writing those little letters. For the graphicalled challenged, a single line will do. And for those who cannot manage that, we can fix it such a way that all that has to eb done is to scratch an “X” at the end of the page!!