vkid
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Don’t know if this has been up before, Shame to see it left this way
http://www.youtube.com/embed/PLzsQyztVuMReportage slideshow (June, 2011) of the (former) Sacred Heart Jesuit Church, Limerick, Ireland.
This iconic building is situated at the Crescent, on O’Connell Street, Limerick, and was completed in 1868 and opened for public worship on January 27th 1869. The architect was William Corbett and the church is in the parish of St Joseph’s. According to some reports, it was originally intended to be dedicated to St. Aloysius but when it was formally dedicated in 1869 it was called the ‘Church of the Sacred Heart’. The façade of the church is Classical/Grecian in design and was renovated in 1900. There are no aisles in the church but the nave had two rows of pews. The nave was extended in 1919.
The ceiling of the church is panelled with floriated ornaments in Stucco work. The high altar was designed by William Corbett and is made from 22 types of precious marble. On the floor around the high altar, there are the symbols of the four writers of the Gospels. The angel represents Matthew, the lion represents Mark while Luke and John are represented by the bull and eagle respectively.
Some of the stained glass windows throughout the church show the letters ‘IHS’. These letters are the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus which is IHSOUS. In Latin the letters stand for Jesus hominum salvator which translates as ‘Jesus, Saviour of men’.
There are nine mosaics above the high altar. The central mosaic is of the Sacred Heart ascending in the presence of St Margaret Mary Alacoque and Blessed Claude la Colombiere. It is surrounded (from left to right) by depictions of St Francis Jerome, St Francis Borgia, St Francis Xavier, St Ignatius, St Stanislaus, St Aloysius, St John Berchmans and St Francis Regis.
Sadly, the church (& residence) formally closed in 2006 and is currently for sale – again! http://www.daft.ie/searchcommercial.daft?id=81592
Photographer: Michael O’Brien (c) June, 2011
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpobrienWill wait until its 100% finished but so far I think its poor. The trusses and the low end are awful and ruin what could have been really nice. Wasted opportunity imo and overall looks a bit shiiiite. Don’t care if i’m moaning..its true.
@dave123 wrote:
What other Shopping centre’s could you compare this development to in this country. e.
The only one that is slightly similar to me is The Eyre Square s.c in Galway…although lets hope it turns out better than that but the idea is similar. Couple of anchor tenants, lots of smaller units etc..
Politics? I doubt the rebels in the peoples republic would be happy for a start. They weren’t exactly impressed with the decision to redevelop Thomond Park but they’d go looney over that suggestion altogether
😀Hopefully the right decisions are made and they dont make the situation worse…but at least there is some movement on the boundary.
Was it not always the case that O’Connell St and William Street would not be touched until the Tunnel was finished and a huge chunk of through traffic would be removed from the city centre. I always thought that was the plan?
@gunter wrote:
vkid, I think you’re trying to set the urban debate back forty years. The building stock on Ellen St., Rutland St. Patrick St. etc. is part of the collective assets of Limerick City. If you dispose of these assets, you’ve got to be bloody sure that you’ve replaced them with someting of higher value.
Not my intention but i do think some level of compromise is needed and if any are to go(which in this country seems inevitable), then the buildings on Ellen Street would be my choice (Quinns/Vintage Club not included as already stated).
I just hate that street, georgian stock or not its horrible, and retaining those buildings is not going to make it any better imo. Even in the best Limerick Summer 😀 it is dark and grim and i really believe it is the width of the street that makes it so.
Again my opinion and sure we’re all entitled to that..even if we have no real influence on the outcome.
I don t see how that development would be in anyway better than whats on offer with the opera Centre. I dont see the issue with glass and if thats the alternative, give me the Opera Centre anyday.
That Lubeck design is truly hideous Gunter and I have to agree with Dave123..what exactly do ye want..restore georgian buildings to their original format, and be left with buildings that are about useful restored as they are in their current state. If people want new life in the city centre then compromise is needed but that yoke in Lubeck is not in any way appealing to me. I’d prefer the glass. People seem to have the idyllic notion of european developments being so much better when in my own experience in the likes of the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK there are way worse examples than whats being proposed here.
I cant say i’m sorry to see some of the Ellen Street buildings go either because its a horrid street. Dark, pokey and dingy, the street is too narrow and the light is blocked by the buildings height. Its the one street in the city with Georgian Stock that is just too narrow imo to carry the buildings well. Thats not because of modern developments either, it is a just a very narrow street relative to the likes of O’Connel street or William Street and is all the worse for it. I will be sorry to see the Quinns building go but thats about all..the rest no loss imo.
My only real concern with the Opera Centre is the rear of the development along side the Granary and the old Workspace..there’s been little mention of that anywhere..and I’m curious to whats the plan for this aspect of the devlopment
is the bank of ireland not due a facelift soon? Although thats probably on hold now with the credit crunch etc.,
Definitely the buildings across from the ‘beautiful’ Brown Thomas building need work..The old ACC bank is kind of cool if it was cleaned up though..
Has anyone seen detailed plans? The station really needs work imo..
New Limerick bus station to get green light?(
PLANS for the €5.5million redevelopment of Colbert Station – to include a new bus station – are hoped to be approved by An Bord Pleanala within the next six weeks, following an oral hearing which took place in the city this week.
It now appears that City officials are satisfied with the revised plans and not as concerned as they were initially with the traffic implications arising from the new bus station.A planning application was submitted to Limerick City Council in February 2007 to bring Colbert Station up to the 21st century, but was refused by City Hall as they felt the new design would detract from Colbert Station – a protected structure – and conflict with the proposed Orbital Route.
However, under questioning from Philip Jones, deputy planning officer with An Bord Pleanala, it was conceded by council officials and the engineers in charge of the project that the redesigned plans for Colbert Station would no longer pose a traffic problem for that area.
Tony Lynch, Arup consulting engineers who areinvolved in the Orbital
Route, replied that “a bit of give and take will be required on both sides”.TO be honest thats the one thing I notice any time I’m on Ellen Street is how dark it is. Any apartments oi’ve been inon the street are extremely dark. Would do no harm in my book to open it up a bit…Its a horrible street at the moment, dark dingy and made up mostly of sex shops, head shops and the odd antique store thrown into the mix..
Heard that was changed in the new plans and there is to be another entrance on Patricks St.. Was talking to someone who had seen the plans and was overall more excited by the new design than what went before. It is only one opinion..havent seen them myself.
I don’t know, they’ve made some mistakes but there has been some great progress as well. No point being negative about everything. There are a lot of positives. I really like the way Henry St is developing for example. Looking from the sinking church at one end to Arthurs Quay Park at the other, it is really taking form. The new Pedestrian areas also look great. There are plenty other positives to point out.
Restoring all the Georgian stock would be ideal, but if you actually want people to use them, sacrifices have to be made imo. In a city of Limericks size it may not always be practical to restore every Georgian building to its original state… so personally I’m open to compromise to a degree. The overall aim is regenerate and breath new life into the city,and to make that happen, buildings may have to adapt.
This might not be a popular notion but to be honest I kind of like whats done to that Solicitors office near the crescent. The building looks great and the rooftop addition is pretty discrete from street level(and not bad at that). The sash windows look very tidy, and it all looks so clean and fresh. I also kind of like the youth centre building opposite the Glen Tavern…another georgian with a bit stuck on, but it works. If the facades of the Opera Centre are suitably restored/preserved and integrated well, I imagine I will quite like those too!
I’ll wait and see what the finished article is like at the old Council offices but I am happy to see these buildings back in use. I’m not saying rip the place apart and knock everything but I do think in a city like Limerick the ideal restoration of all Georgian stock is not realistic and a certain amount of sacrifice in these projects is to be expected..
Speaking of the Opera Centre, did i see somewhere a decision on the new plans is due this month??
That is (potentially) great news. Awful building as it stands and you are 100%…with the redevlopment of Bedford Row, it really highlights the need to do something with this building (and a few more on O’Connell St..
@Rhabanus wrote:
Must agree with johnglas regarding Mary Immaculate’s proposed use of the Franciscan Church, Limerick, as a library. A shame that the beautiful images in the quire will not be seen, unless, of course, the temporary wall sealing off the sanctuary from the nave goes only so high in order for the apsidal images to be seen by library patrons and staff. Perhaps a form of inspiration in the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness.
eheu!
There are still very few details on what way this will work. There is a more buildings attached to the Church(accomodation etc) which I think the college are also getting so what will happen the Church building itself is not 100% clear yet.. It will be very interesting to see what way it is all handled but we shouldnt jump the gun just yet on the affects it will have..
Not sure to be honest but the Franciscans are giving it to them, as they no longer will have a presence in the city (despite being here since 1270). Lack of vocations and smaller attendances quoted…as far as I know. It is however a beautiful building.
, The Redmptorists is my favourite church in Limerick. These images don’t do it justice but its stunning inside…Some of the stained glass is unreal..now getting apartment blocks on its grounds…As far as i know its becoming part of Mary Immaculate college for the Theolgy dept..also heard its main function would be as a library
browsing flickr came across this image of the last mass at The Franciscan Church in Limerick recently. A beautiful church now closed..the second such closure in the city
and one of it empty
and externally…
