{"id":592584,"date":"2026-08-14T01:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T01:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/592584\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T01:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T01:48:12","slug":"dublins-new-catholic-cathedral-to-close-for-e17m-renovation-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/592584\/","title":{"rendered":"Dublin\u2019s new Catholic cathedral to close for \u20ac17m renovation \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

St Mary\u2019s Cathedral, one of Dublin<\/a>\u2019s \u201cmost important\u201d Catholic church buildings, is to close next week until 2028 for a \u20ac17 million renovation, Dublin\u2019s Catholic Archdiocese has announced.<\/p>\n

St Mary\u2019s, which was designated by Pope Leo XIV as the Catholic cathedral for Dublin last year, is to close on August 17th after planning permission for \u201cessential\u201d renovation and conservation works was granted by Dublin City Council<\/a> in October.<\/p>\n

The project will involve external accessibility upgrades, structural maintenance and upgrades to the cathedral\u2019s interior. It is expected to cost \u20ac17 million, according to the archdiocese.<\/p>\n

Three-quarters of the funding has been pledged by \u201cgenerous donors\u201d, it said in a statement on Thursday. The remainder will come from fundraising.<\/p>\n

Previously known for 200 years as the Pro Cathedral, the church on Marlborough Street has hosted significant religious ceremonies and national events, including the 1922 funeral of Michael Collins and the 2018 Pope Francis visit.<\/p>\n

On its 200th anniversary last November, Leo designated St Mary\u2019s as the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. A cathedral is the seat of a diocese\u2019s bishop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the Cathedral\u2019s recent designation gives added significance to the project, the need for substantial works has long been recognised,\u201d the archdiocese said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis investment will preserve one of Dublin\u2019s most important church buildings while preparing it to serve future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the archdiocese confirmed the cathedral is expected to be closed for two years.<\/p>\n

During the closure, major liturgies will take place in St Andrew\u2019s Church on Westland Row, while \u201cparish and sacramental life\u201d will continue at St Joseph\u2019s Church on Berkeley Road, it said.<\/p>\n

The temporary closure forms part of a \u201cwider vision\u201d for the Catholic Church\u2019s presence in Dublin city centre, it said, namely a \u201ctwin pillar\u201d strategy adopted by Archbishop Dermot Farrell, which is centred on St Mary\u2019s and St Andrew\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot merely about buildings\u201d, the initiative seeks to \u201cstrengthen the church\u2019s mission through prayer, welcome, service, encounter and outreach, maintaining a strong presence on both sides of the river Liffey\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n

Archbishop Farrell announced in June 2023 that Vatican permission was to be sought to have the Pro Cathedral, north of the Liffey, elevated to the status of a basilica while St Andrew\u2019s, south of the Liffey, would become the city\u2019s cathedral.<\/p>\n

The plans were dropped after protests<\/a> from some in Dublin\u2019s north inner city parishes at what they interpreted as a downgrading in the status of their local cathedral.<\/p>\n

Noting on Thursday that both St Mary\u2019s and St Andrew\u2019s have \u201clong histories of serving the population of Dublin\u201d, the archdiocese said their locations, capacities and existing links to civic, cultural and educational bodies provide \u201cunique opportunities for a renewed pastoral presence at the heart of the city\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St Mary\u2019s Cathedral, one of Dublin\u2019s \u201cmost important\u201d Catholic church buildings, is to close next week until 2028…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12780,615,13288,61,60,43,6318],"class_list":["post-592584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-catholic-church","tag-dublin","tag-dublin-city-council","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-pope-leo-xiv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}