reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches
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Pro-Cathedral Church of St. Patrick, Skibbereen, Co. Cork
Built by Bishop Michael Collins to plans drawn by Br. Michael Augustine O’Riordan and completed in 1826.
The west facade was given a porch in c. 1883 by G.C. Ashlin who also substituted the original glazing of the window with the present tripartite scheme.
Pro Cathedral Church of St. Patrick, Skibbereen, Co. Cork
Some further shots oft he west elevation with a detail of the of the symmetrical holy water stoups at either side of the main door and inset in niches whose architectural origins are to be found in the portico of the Pantheon in Rome..
The detail also provides an example of the proportionate scaling. The outer section consists of some 19 courses on a base; followed by 16 courses on a smaller base; followed by 12 courses on a recessed base; followed by the niche consisting of 5 courses. Transversely, we have 4 sctions on the outer lintel; 2 on the inner lintel; and 1 forming the arch of the niche.
Id anyone has the time, I am sure they will also discover that the size of the blocks is also proportionate to their positioning in the outer or inner recess or to the niche.
While the sides oft he recesses are not perpendicular, those of the niche are.
The font itself is differentiated by a change of colouring n the stone and is elaborated -not accidentially – in 3 superimposed hemispherical arcs of varying size; all articulate again in 3 parts.
The west facade is now missing two urns that originally stood on the plinths.
It would alos be interesting were someone to have the the time to track the origin of these proportions and massings to their origins in Vitruvius, Serlio, and Palladio.
Pro Cathedral Church of St. Patrick, Skibbereen, Co. Cork
Here we have a shot of the apse constructed by G. C. Ashlin c. 1883 when he extended the sanctuary and closed off the the open transepts of the 1826 “T” shaped plan which we typically find in many of the churches of Florence.
Ashlin’s apse windows ops can be contrasted immediately with those insatlled by O’Riordan in 1826.
The other picture sgows the external access to the west gallery which is located in the south elevation.
And finally, an excellent sarcophagus tomb which looks like dating from the 1830’s which is to be found on the south side against the massive screen boundary walls built by O’Riordan in 1826 – a feature also to be found at Doneraile.
P.S. Could anyone persuade the people in Skibbereen to take away those awful lamps depending from the drip courses right around the church?
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. COrk.
These pictures recently came to Praxiteles. They show the results of the recent “re-ordering” of the church church built in 1869. The “reordering” was completed on 8 December 2007 and, from the pubblished brochure, we learn that one of the dignitaries present was the Cork County Council’s Conservation/Heritage Officer.
From the pictures, we notice -and have documented this previously on this thread – that the gates of the altar rail (by McGlouglin of Dublin) have been stripped from the rail. Previous inquiries about them revealed that bno planning permission was sought for this item and none given by the Cork County Council. Again, no declaration of exemption was sought for the removal of the gates of the altar rail and none was given.
Repeated representations to Cork County Concil have revealed various “scealta”. Atfirst, they might have been taken down for cleaning and restoration but they would be reinstated. Further inquiries are believed to have very flaccid representations made about putting them back. While all this was going on the gates were simply planked against the rail – but, as religion still seems to have a social impact on the area around Kanturk, nobody obliged by stealing them.
Almost a full year after the completion of the “reordering” we still have no gates on the rail. Cok County Council has done nothing about it -and does not seem to bothered to want to da anything about it. The Heritage/Conservation Officer and the Enforcement Officer, as far as the gates are concerned, may as well not exist – or at least as far as the simple matter of restoring the gates to the rail is concerned they do not appear to represent much productivity as far spending public funds on their salaries is concerned.
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk, Co. Cork
If Cork County Council is of the view that the gates have been removed from the altar rail simply for restoration and cleaning and will be returned at some undetermined time during the present millennium, then perhaps they might wish to ponder on the significance of the gauging out of the brass stays for the gates from the praedella of the sanctuary.
That little detail strikes Praxiteles as redolent of a quasi habitual intention of ensuring thay they will never return.
And just in case Cork County Council is thinking that someone in Kanturk has come to a realization of the artistic quality, merits and value of the sancttuary gates and has simply secreated them in a nearby bank vault, they may wish to take a look at the following images which clearly show the ubication of the gates at present and the amount of “chesrihing” their artistic and heritage quality merits.
Kqnturk is indeed a very interesting case and it will be more than interesting to see how it pans out.
@Praxiteles wrote:
Sub-prime expertise!!
Add at least another qualification: Sub-subprime …just think of the ecclesiastical “expertise” deployed on the project to devastate Cobh Cathedral.
Let us simply call it SUBSTANDARD and be done with it. To suggest that the alleged “liturgical” expertise was dismal is not far off the mark.
A complete waste of time and resources regardless how one cuts it.
SUBSTANDARD!
@Praxiteles wrote:
And just in case Cork County Council is thinking that someone in Kanturk has come to a realization of the artistic quality, merits and value of the sancttuary gates and has simply secreated them in a nearby bank vault, they may wish to take a look at the following images which clearly show the ubication of the gates at present and the amount of “chesrihing” their artistic and heritage quality merits.
Shame on the Al-wahabi for his sacrilegious treatment of the communion gates. The garbage pail over the cross on the gate is abominable!
Fie upon the CCC as well for allowing this atrocity to continue.
Stop the sharade.
This reflects quite tellingly the level of faith and competence of the clergy in the region. Does the toffynosed Al-Wahabi still occupy the cabana?
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY DYSFUNCTIONAL !
@johnglas wrote:
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.
A fine redemptive theme there!
@Rhabanus wrote:
Shame on the Al-wahabi for his sacrilegious treatment of the communion gates. The garbage pail over the cross on the gate is abominable!
Fie upon the CCC as well for allowing this atrocity to continue.
Stop the sharade.
This reflects quite tellingly the level of faith and competence of the clergy in the region. Does the toffynosed Al-Wahabi still occupy the cabana?
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY DYSFUNCTIONAL !
Indeed!!!
@Praxiteles wrote:
And just in case Cork County Council is thinking that someone in Kanturk has come to a realization of the artistic quality, merits and value of the sancttuary gates and has simply secreated them in a nearby bank vault, they may wish to take a look at the following images which clearly show the ubication of the gates at present and the amount of “chesrihing” their artistic and heritage quality merits.
No reaction fron Cork County Council?
@Praxiteles wrote:
No reaction fron Cork County Council?
The sap must trickle rather slowly in that neck of the woods!
Anyone know or hear what latest cunning plan is for St.Colmans , the taped off area where the crumbling plasterwork has been removed and replaced by high green netting above the congregation to catch the falling plaster. Is it still with ‘consultants’ or is there some plan…. hope the consultants or advisors mention a bit of sandpapering and varnish as the doors still not done..:confused:
Some shots of an interesting medieval chuech in Bordeaux: ST Eloi. Built in the 12 century and substantially rebulit in the 14th century, it exhibits all the traits of its historical evolution -the most notable one being the non alignment of the 14century chancel with the surviving parts of the 12 century nave. The church stands at the Grasse Cloche of Bordeauz and remaine the pivotal to the lagal life of Bordeaux until 1790. It was here that all oaths were sworn and magistrates installed.
The church has a highly important early octagonal bell tower.
The interior has a fine 17/18 century High ALtar – mercifully intact and in regular use. Th iron work of the altar rail is early 19th century.
St ELoi, Bordeaux
The sedilia properly arranged against the south wall and the sanctuary covered in carpets indicating the celebration of a important feats day – in this case the Assumption of Our Lady on 15 August.
The case of St Eloi in Bordeaux is of importance from several perspectives not least amongh which the prinicples of its restauration which was conducted under M. Goutal, the Architect en Chef of the Monuments Historiques in the City of Bordeaux – whose services could well be employed by several entities in Ireland including the OPW and the nitwits now submerged by the failed “restoration” of Cobh Cathedral. Indeed, the latest agréé of the Cobh flop, Southgate Conservation Architects, could well have a quiet word with him also.
St Eloi was originally built in 1159 in honour of St Eloi (588-659) metal worker, bishop and counsellor to Dagobert, the merovingian king of France, patron saint of goldsmiths and metal workers. When the city wall fell on the church in 1245, it was rebuilt in the gothic style, the first gothic church to have been built in Bordeaux. Further work continued in the 14 and 15 centuries and the new church was finally consecrated in 1497 by the Cardinal d’Espinay. The church was wrecked during the revolution and lost all of its fine medieval glass. Restoration began in 1828 under Potevin who gave the church its present neo-gothic facade.
The church functioned regularly until 1981 when it was effectively abandoned -partly because of urban decay and the demographic changes in this particular quartier of the city. In 1983 an Association of Concerned Persons was formed to ensure the survival of the church. In 1986 this association raised enough funds to reroof the church and consolidate the bell tower. The decline of population in the parish meant that the church continued not to function, though it had never ceased officially as a place of worship. Efforts to reestablish worship met with little interest from the themn Archbishop. In 1993 the church became a repository for the municipal archives of Bordeaux. Further efforts to revive worship in St Eloi came to nothing. Given the lack of official interest, the then Mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé. gave the church to the Association on condition that it would attend to the internal restoration of the building and re-animate it. This was part of a programme of urban regeneration in the quartier.
The Association underttook the restoration under the dirrection of M. Goutal. In 2002, the Association invited some members of the Society of St. Pius X to take charge of the churcheand to resume publoic worship. This began in March 2002. In the meantime, the members of the Society of St. Pius X were reconciled with Rome and the parish of St Eloi was formally committed to them by the present Archbishop – thereby peaceably bringing to an end two concurrent problems and giving rise to a very vibrant young parish which is committed to further restoration of the interior of the building.
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