St Mary’s Cathedral in Dublin is to close after Easter for a two-year refurbishment programme after the church formerly known as St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral had its status upgraded last year.
The building was designated a cathedral by Pope Leo XIV last year, as announced by Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin on November 14th last, the 200th anniversary of the building’s dedication in 1825.
Costs for the planned refurbishments have been put at €25 million. Easter Sunday is on April 5th.
The “pro” prefix to St Mary’s up to then stood for pro tempore, or “for the time being”, indicating its temporary status pending long-standing plans to build a new Catholic cathedral in Ireland’s capital. A cathedral is the seat – from Latin cathedra for chair – of a diocese’s bishop.
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Last November’s announcement meant that for the first time in almost 500 years, Dublin had a Catholic Cathedral.
From 1179, Christ Church Cathedral in the city was the official cathedral in Dublin. In 1539, following England’s King Henry VIII’s break with Rome, all Irish monasteries and churches loyal to the pope, including Christ Church Cathedral, were dissolved and handed over to the newly established state church, which was Anglican.
Christ Church Cathedral today is the seat of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough.
Built on Dublin’s Marlborough Street after the penal laws persecuting Catholics were relaxed in the later 18th century, the St Mary’s site was bought in 1803. It was dedicated on November 14th, 1825, the feast day of diocesan patron St Laurence O’Toole, who was canonised 800 years ago last year.
During the two-year refurbishment programme, events that usually take place there will be held at St Andrew’s Church on Westland Row. It is intended the new cathedral will reopen well in advance of 200th-anniversary celebrations of Catholic Emancipation in 2029.
Bringing St Mary’s, a protected structure, to full cathedral status will include reconfiguring and restoring the sanctuary and internal spaces, including a new glazed entrance lobby.
The comparatively recent sacristy extensions are to be demolished, restoring the building’s architectural integrity and to allow for new staff and clergy facilities.
Key ecclesiastic furnishings will be refurbished, with construction of a new glazed area at the Sacred Heart Chapel and the provision of new rooms at upper levels to support choirs, staff and clergy. The baptismal font, pulpit and altar table will be repositioned.
Sightlines for the congregation, long a point of contention in the building, will be improved and better accommodation provided for the Palestrina Choir.
Mosaic flooring will be restored, with stone replacing plain mosaic, and there will be improvement in accessibility through installation of a retractable platform lift.
Outside, extensive work is planned for the roof, with major cleaning and repairs of the building’s exterior generally, including restoration of chimneys, lanterns and the bell.
The refurbishment is being led by Dublin-based FKP Architects which rebuilt St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford, destroyed by fire in 2009. In 2015, it won Building Project of the Year and Interior Architectural Project of the Year awards for its work there.
