European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 11, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Ireland it St. Mary s Cathedral in Limerick Inland has undergone substantial renovation in the last few years. The building is Halfway through the . Mary Sliu Cicon cat Idrac undergoing major restoration in mainly cat ionic area by Robert Barr the associated press perhaps the least eligible Corpse Ever buried in St. Mary s anglican Cathedral in Limerick Ireland was Murrough o Brien an avid destroyer of churches known As Quot Murrough of the o Brien the first Earl of Inch Quin and a Leader of the protestant royalist cause against Irish rebels burned the Abbey at Adare and four friars in August 1647, then did the same to the Hilltop Cathedral at Cashel in september killing 3,000 people who had taken Refuge in guides Delight in telling visitors that the Day after o Brien was buried in the family Chape in 1674, townspeople stormed the Cathedral and tossed his body into the River Shannon. The Earl s destructive spirit lives on a but not so much in fire As in rot decay and a Devilish twist in history that left the roman catholics with 95 percent of the people and the anglican Church of Ireland with most of the monuments. Limerick s protestants have found restoration a hard slog. Quot i Don t honestly think it is to the glory of cod to spend 2.5 million pounds s3.80 million to have a place of worship for 120 people Quot said the very Rev. Maurice Sirr Dean of the Cathedral. He s Halfway there with All the discomfort that comes from half finished projects. Bare Stone columns and Walls await fresh plaster. Dust is a constant problem. Plans for a museum a visitor Center and an observation platform atop the Tower All facets of a successful tourist attraction Are on hold. Not that the 12th-Century Church lacks for interest without them. It has Ireland s Only set of medieval carved seats known As Misericord. It has the biggest pre reformation altar slab in Ireland a three tonner that was restored to use in the 1960s after lying outside for centuries. Behind the High altar is a Stone re Edos carved by Michael Pearse whose son Patrick was one of the 16 men executed for leading the easter rising against Britain in 1916. St Mary s has not always charmed visitors. Quot a barbarous old turreted edifice Quot William Makepeace Thackeray sneered. Thomas Carlyle visiting in 1849, referred to Quot a big dark Brown Hulk of an edifice. What they Call the battlements of St. Mary s Tower Are a landmark of Limerick s medieval Quarter which also boasts an imposing 13th-Century Castle overlooking the Shannon. A major Art collection will open next year in the old Customhouse. Sirr cringes at the term Quot product Quot but. That s a role he envisions for his Church. Quot Why just simply preserve something you know actually keep bricks on bricks unless it has some very positive use from the Point of View of tourism Quot he asked. Quot we saw our role As slotting in quite easily with say King John s Castle and indeed the ambience of the medieval . Restoration is beyond the resources of the 300 families Sirr counts As Active Church of ire Ana members in this City of 75,000. The Church of Ireland the state Church until 1869, once had seven churches in the City. Now it struggles to keep the Cathedral and one Parish Church going. The diocese of Limerick and Killaloo has cathedrals Iri regular use in both of Tho a towns As Well As the half ruined St. Fachan s Cathedral at Kil Fenora a Hamlet graced by three ancient High crosses and the Cathedral of St Brendan at Confert famed for its lavishly carved doorway. Ruined cathedrals in Arfert and Dilmac Daugh both Are in the state s care. Sirr retains the title of Dean of Limerick and Arfert although Arfert has been a ruin at least since 1611. The government has begun a 700,000-Pound $10,710,000 restoration there to keep it in Good order. Quot the state finds no difficulty being Able to restore ruins you know and spend quite a lot of Money on them Quot Sirr said with an exasperated chuckle. Quot i sometimes wonder a but it s not for me to wonder As a fund Raiser Sirr tactfully Calls his Church Quot a National treasure of which the the government did contribute 200,000 pounds from the National lottery for St Mary s. Sirr is proud that local catholics raised 20,000 pounds and that the Catholic Bishop served As a Patron of the Appeal. The 18th Baron Inch Quin taking a More constructive role than his ancestor helped in the fund raising. In past years St. Mary s was a must Stop for Many visitors arriving at Shannon International Airport 14 Miles West of Limerick because their Airport buses got to town before their hotel rooms were ready. Quot so the operator of the bus would Stop at St. Mary a Quot the Dean said. Quot they would tour the Cathedral first thing in the morning. We used to think this was fantastic but really they were trying to sort of hive them off for a while so they could waste time until the hotel was november 11, 1993 stripes Magazine 9
