reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches
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@johnglas wrote:
It’s difficult to understand why there is not a move to reinstate roodscreen and altars; they already have a ‘temporary’ (movable) nave altar and if the two discarded altars are as unique as suggested, then this reinforces the case. With the current vogue for the ‘older use’ of Mass, this would all make perfect sense. If Benedict’s re-reform of the mass takes root, you will suddenly find lots of apologists for destruction becoming advocates of ‘restoration’. Watch this space.
They are a spineless lot and fickle to the end.
Has anybody seen the efforts of the OPW on the Skellig Michael and particularly their apparent efforts to rebuild the monastic site there? I wonder whether this might not be another example of the kind of thing that we saw in relation to their efforts to rebuild Cormac’s Chapel.
@Praxiteles wrote:
Has anybody seen the efforts of the OPW on the Skellig Michael and particularly their apparent efforts to rebuild the monastic site there? I wonder whether this might not be another example of the kind of thing that we saw in relation to their efforts to rebuild Cormac’s Chapel.
I haven’t been there, but about a year ago I came across this video on youtube, criticising what the OPW have done here;
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=GpXgBveqnjY
It’s inevitable when the whole approach is geared towards tourism; any conservation programme that admits any motive of tourist dollars is immediately a danger to heritage. Heritage is not a commodity (should not be) and no justification, like ‘tourism for the economy’ is required for spending money on conservation, if the heritage has any value of itself in the first place.
@Antipodes wrote:
This is indeed a Pugin altar and reredos, and a very significant one. It is one of a small number of his designs for winged altars based on his observations in Central Europe. Its brilliant colours follow the rules of heraldry, as did his flat decorations, and it is thankfully intact. The design closely resembles his later illustration of an altar in his 1841 edition of ‘Contrasts’, as well as an unexecuted design of 1839 for the Lady Altar in St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham.
St Peter’s College shelters other Pugin altar treasures, namely, the two rood screen altars from the demolished screen of the chapel. Both are in storage. The one formerly on the north side of the screen has a reliquary of St Aidan set into the front.
wonderful picture! this chapel is too overlooked. I’ve just come across an old picture of it with the rood screen intact, it’s in a new book just published about Wexford. If I can’t find it online maybe I’ll scan it in and post it.
@ake wrote:
I haven’t been there, but about a year ago I came across this video on youtube, criticising what the OPW have done here;
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=GpXgBveqnjY
It’s inevitable when the whole approach is geared towards tourism; any conservation programme that admits any motive of tourist dollars is immediately a danger to heritage. Heritage is not a commodity (should not be) and no justification, like ‘tourism for the economy’ is required for spending money on conservation, if the heritage has any value of itself in the first place.
St. Colmans despite the best efforts of its keepers not to spend a button on it, is Cobhs biggest Tourist attraction. Amazing to the see the numbers in and out, all times of the year, clicking away… guess we’ll have a good worldwide photographic record of its crumbling……oh the shame….:confused:
Some shots of E.W. Pugin’s All Saints at Barton Irwell near Manchester.
The ensemble here of church and detached presbytery is quite similar to the church of the Sacred Heart built by him and G.C.Ashlin at Monkstown, Co. Cork.
All Saints Barton on Irwell.
South side and west door with the arms of the de Trafford family of Trafford Park (who built the church) at either side.
All Saints, Barton Irwell
The Chancel seen from the nave.
The High Altar
The panels of the reredos depict, left side, the Nativity of Our Lord and the Adoration of the Magi with the carrying of the Cross and the Cruucifixion on the right side.
All Saints, Barton Irwell, Manchester
The pulpit
The pulpit here is octagonal (much favoured by E.W. Pugin) and comparable with those (fortunately still surviving) in Cobh Cathedral and at the the Church of the Sacred Heart in Monkstown, Co. Cork.
The Barton Irwell example is done in a perpendicular idiom.
To the right of the pulpit and behind it, is the entrance to the de Trafford mortuary chapel.
Note the banding on the pillars which is reminiscent of the gothic cathedrals of Orvieto and Siena.
This church is about a mile and half up the road from Trafford Park -so if anyone is going to a football match, it can easily be taken in.
All Saints, Barton Irwell, Manchester
The altar of the de Trafford mortuary chapel.
This family were notable recusants in the Manchester area. Despite the reformation and the penalties imposed on those who did not conform to the new religion, the de Trafforts remained Catholic and very much the centre of all Catholic activities in the Manchster area reight into the the early 20th century.
If Praxiteles is not very much mistaken, the dead Christ under the altar reflects Mantegna’s composition of the same subject.
All Saints, Barton Irwell
The inside of the west door showing the original hanging and armament of the door.
The church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea and of St. Patrick at Goleen, in West Cork.
An inscription over the main door tells us that the church was consecrated in October 1854.
It is of interest because of its ground plan which is “T” shaped and its roofing which comes together over the crossing in a king’s pin arrangement.
While traditionally churchese run in bays of odd numbers, this church is 4 bays.
It is also nteresting in that much (though not all) of its original features survive, including the High Altar – in front of which another altar has been erected on the outer edge of the altar praedella.
This church can be compared with the interior of the smaller (thoug not less interesting) church of St. Joseph, at Liscarroll, Co. Cork (of 1869), currently the subject of an appeal to ABP which shares many of its features..
One striking difference between the two churches is the double doors to the retro sacristy in Goleen – a feature taken over from the classical period. Liscarroll built 15 yeras later has a sacristy massed on the south side of the sanctuary with only one door – indicating the advance of gothic revival prinicples in the intervening years of the building of both churches.
The church of Our Lady Star of the Sea and of St. Patrick (1854) at Goleen, West Cork
The High Altar.
The triple lancet window contains a crucifixion with Our Lady and St, John the subject clearly transposed here from the medieval Rood Beam.
St. Joesph’s, Liscarroll, however has a single decorated window in the chancel. the subject is similar except that ST. John has been replaced by St. Joseph, the church’s patron.
Much of the glass in Goleen church comes from Watson’s studios in Youghal, Co. Cork
St. Mary’s, Castlemagner, Co. Cork built in 1869.
Here is another example of these “T” shaped gothic revival churches of the mid 19th century.
Here unfortunately a complete devastation has been practised on the building. Following the awful butchery of Casey on Killarney Cathedral, the walls have been stripped of their plaster and decoration. The sanctuary has been completely gutted and re kitted in the most eccentric of manners.
However, even still the church is interesting. Firstly, the roof, with its king pin at the crossing, is exceptionally high and lemnd the church a tremendous sense of space. The chancel window is by Mayers of Munich and in its Immaculata and St, Jeseph clearly demonstarte influences deriving from Murillo. The original trellis work iron framed windows survive by some miracle of grace.
As with Liscarroll, the sacristy of this “T” shaped church is massed to side of the sanctuary. However, the dooor as it appears to-day opens into the transept – a falsification deriving from the demolition of the altar rail which once enclosed much of the span across the nave and the transepts. When the rail was in place, the sacristy door opened into the sancturay.
St. Mary’s, Castlemagner 1869
The chancel window by Mayer of Munich (signed lower left corner) installed in 1913.
St. mary’s, Castlemagner 1869
Cast iron trellis work windows
The stations of the Cross are also by Mayer of Munich but have been repained with peculiar tinctures.
Prax: very nice set of pics of decent modest country parish churches (Goleen in good enough taste even for me – pity about the altar rails); I agree that Castlemagner sanctuary has been butchered in a way that can satisfy nobody, but what has been undone can be ‘done’, if you know what I mean. When restoration becomes the new orthodoxy we could be in for a few (pleasant) surprises. Perhaps the economic downturn will have an ecclesiastical equivalent in the redundancy of liturgical ‘experts’ – DV. After all ,they’ve been trading in sub-prime expertise for years.
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