St Patrick’s Cathedral prays for new roof

AN AMBITIOUS €9 million conservation project has been launched to replace the roof of the iconic St Patrick’s Cathedral.

The roof conservation programme that will take two years to complete is aimed at ensuring the future of the building.

The distinctive blue grey slates will be sourced from the same mine in Wales as the slates that were used in the Guinness restoration of the 1860s.

Members of the public will be invited to contribute by sponsoring a slate at a minimum contribution of €50 each.

 While the cathedral will remain open to the public at all times, a spokesman for the project said that if the 800 years of history of St Patrick’s is to continue then this urgent work of replacing the slates must proceed immediately.

The Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dr William Morton, explained that, while the roofs have been maintained to a high degree over the last 160 years, there are serious problems which have arisen due to ageing.

This has been seen notably in “nail sickness”, where nails have become totally rusted, or have dropped out altogether, together with delamination of some of the slates.

This means that the roofs have to be re-slated at an estimated cost of €9 million.

This will be the most significant conservation project undertaken by the cathedral since the 1860s when Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness funded, undertook, and personally supervised, a full-scale restoration of the building. 

“St Patrick’s Cathedral – the third church on this ancient site, on which it is believed our patron saint baptised some early Christians from a famous well nearby– is a protected structure, and also a national monument,” Dean Morton said.

“I could not stress enough that it is our ardent desire that the Cathedral will remain open for worship, and the reception of visitors.”