Fearg
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North Cathedral Cork..
Some Images of the current interior:
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@Rhabanus wrote:
Fearg,
Thanks for the pics of Sacred Heart, Carndonagh, Co. Donegal. The screen erected on the communion rail looks like the framework of an iconostasis]de novo[/I] on the basis of a pagan temple, whether Celtic or Germanic, Greek or Roman, is ill-advised because of the messgae conveyed by the architecture.
The earliest public churches were modelled on the basilica, not the Temple in Jerusalem, nor the pagan temples of the Roman Empire. Imitating a pagan mound suggests to me a mistaken direction. Much earlier in hte thread, around p. 53 or 54, Praxiteles pointed out the disturbing parallels between Our Lady of the Wayside and an ancient druidic mound, one which has been rather well preserved.
The Christian church should draw on distinctly Christian sources and resources when designed or constructed de novo. After all, what is most worthy of imitation?
Having said all that, IMHO Burt is a much better building than Our Lady of the Wayward, both in concept and execution. I can also guarantee that if it were suggested to the local community that Burt should be replaced with a more traditional building, there would be uproar!
@Rhabanus wrote:
I read the blurb provided by The Arts Council of Aelion about the “gold medal winner”:
“The eminent Donegal architect Liam McCormick designed St. Aengus’ Church or ‘Burt Chapel’ as it is locally known during the period of 1964-67.McCormicks distinct ability to read a site and produce remarkable buildings from that, sets him apart from any of his Irish church architect peers.”
What, may I ask, is the obsession with circlular churches and circular sanctuaries? Everything is turned in on itself. Seems eerily Freudian to me – too much narcissism and self-absorption being transmitted through the architectural idiom. Then consider what Ireland has been through ecclesiastically over the last forty years ….
Long rectangular naves conducting substantial processions of clergy into an apse glittering with mosaics seem far more vigorous, assertive, and virile than these round mounds. In churches built with cruciformity one expereinces movement rather than stasis, engagement rather than introspection, leadership rather than withdrawal and detachment. As I have stated more than once on this thread, liturgical architecture betrays the state of the church in a given place.
I hope that Rome is taking due notice of what has transpired in Ireland over the last forty years. The architectural disasters have left abundant hieroglyphs and petraglyphs. Time to read the writing on the wall: “Counted, weighed, and found wanting.”
Rhabanus,
I would normally agree, however I think we need to make an exception for Burt! Its built close to one of the most important prehistoric sites in Ireland, the Grianan of Aileach, the church design is influenced by that (and, I know, strictly speaking it probably shouldn’t have been). Its an iconic building though and it works very well in its setting – photos really don’t do it justice. The clever idea of building a smaller circle inside a larger one, gives you the ability to have recessed baptistry, confessionals, sacristy etc, integrated into the main building whilst creating a very “clean” exterior. The only real problem I have with Burt, is that it was probably the first circular church in Ireland and many have tried (and failed) to imitate it since. The interior furnishings could be better though.Link to some information about the building which inspired the church:
http://www.stonepages.com/ireland/grianan.html@Praxiteles wrote:
This is an unqualified disaster marked by the same dim-witted lack of imagination. What, might I ask, are those railings doing on the altar rail?
Sacred Heart Carndonagh, it dominates the town:
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@Praxiteles wrote:
You are perfectly correct, Fearg, but this attempt foundered. I must say the port holes are very fetching!
and for those of you who do not know Burt – its quite respectable, defintiely Liam McCormack’s best work.
Link to a couple of photos from Archiseek:
http://www.irish-architecture.com/infobase/riai/riai_gold_medal_winners_staengus.html
And some interior shots:
http://www.lamp.ac.uk/trs/Special_Research_Interests/burt.htm
Definitely works best when seen from outside!
@Praxiteles wrote:
Here is a mouthful of self-satisfying guff for you:
Church Of The All Saints
Church Of The All Saints, Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal.
Designed and based on St. Peter’s Barque, the Church Of The All Saints displays some of the fine stonework that native to Donegal. With a high ceiling interior the church gives a fresh feeling and with various meeting rooms internally the Church was designed to provide a vital amenity for the area, as well as being very aesthetically pleasing.Completed 1999.
This must surely make the short list for horror interiors.
and they demolished a rather nice old chapel to make way for that.. I think they were trying to do a “St Aengus'” at Burt, which is the next church down the road from Newton..
@Praxiteles wrote:
What was the name of the firm?
MH Associates, Letterkenny – http://www.mhassociates.ie
@Praxiteles wrote:
This is an unqualified disaster marked by the same dim-witted lack of imagination. What, might I ask, are those railings doing on the altar rail?
Not surprising really – if you look at that firm’s portfolio, they specialise in pubs/restaurants and yes dormer bungalows..
@jmrowland wrote:
I would be interested in getting people’s read on what is being done with Sacred Heart Church in Peoria – http://sacredheartpeoria.com/index.html – personally, I think that the result is quite beautiful, but I have some reservations! If the link doesn’t work, copy and paste it into your browser. Gallery 1 is before, the others are during and after.
Superb job..
By means of comparision – here is a recently renovated Church of the Sacred Heart in Co Donegal, Ireland:
@Fearg wrote:
And a similar hypothetical question for Brian Quinn – if the 1904 sanctuary had still been intact in 2002, how would you have proceeded? (Assuming the client gave you complete freedom!).
Thanks,
Fearg.Brian,
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this one.. (its in relation to Armagh Cathedral)Thanks!!
Fearg.Re Longford. To replace the old altar, surely they could have found something more in keeping with the building that that cheap looking banner? it totally detracts from the architectural coherence of the apse.
As a contrast to St Saviours in Dublin, here is St Catherine’s Dominican church in Newry, where a more minimalist approach to reordering took place (sorry about the poor quality photo). It looks similar too, albeit smaller than St Peter’s in Belfast.
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Thanks Prax, on a similar line, here are some pictures of Derry, first one is an unexecuted proposal for a broach spire, looks much taller than what was actually built:
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Paul,
Looking at the floorplan, would I be correct in saying that Monaghan looked very much like St Saviours in Dublin once did?http://www.saintsavioursdublin.ie/churchpictures_large/centralsanctuaryview.jpg
@Rhabanus wrote:
It’s a dead ringer for the other one in the Praxiteles’ photo. Note the finials at each end of the vertical and horizontal arms.
I do in fact have access to some recent books on Irish churches and cathedrals, so will do some more routling about in search of the mysterious rood.
The crucifix was designed by the architect responsible for the renovation and was made in Madrid (by the same people who made the Tabernacle).
I’m fairly sure the crucifix in St Peter’s is brand new and was commisioned as part of the recent renovation project.
St John the Baptist Drumaroad:
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Some more shots of St Peter’s Belfast:
A superb job has been done on repairing the fabric – as can be seen if you compare with those at this link: http://www.simonknott.co.uk/northbelfastcathrc.htm
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