Restoration work to begin at 800-year-old Raphoe Cathedral

Contractors have been appointed to carry out the restoration of St Eunan’s Cathedral in Raphoe, Co Donegal and work is due to being next month, the Church of Ireland has said.
By Mark Rainey
Published 20th Jul 2020, 16:10 BST
Raphoe Cathedral restoration. Front (l-r): Richard Gamble (J.A. Gamble and Co. Ltd. - Main Contractors), Karl Pedersen (Mullarkey Pedersen Architects) Very Reverend Arthur Barrett (Dean of Raphoe). Rear (l-r): Renee Goudie and Jim King (Raphoe Cathedral Select Vestry) .Raphoe Cathedral restoration. Front (l-r): Richard Gamble (J.A. Gamble and Co. Ltd. - Main Contractors), Karl Pedersen (Mullarkey Pedersen Architects) Very Reverend Arthur Barrett (Dean of Raphoe). Rear (l-r): Renee Goudie and Jim King (Raphoe Cathedral Select Vestry) .
Raphoe Cathedral restoration. Front (l-r): Richard Gamble (J.A. Gamble and Co. Ltd. - Main Contractors), Karl Pedersen (Mullarkey Pedersen Architects) Very Reverend Arthur Barrett (Dean of Raphoe). Rear (l-r): Renee Goudie and Jim King (Raphoe Cathedral Select Vestry) .

The restoration will be carried out by J A Gamble and Co with €80,000 of the total cost coming from an Irish Government grant.

Dean of Raphoe, Very Rev Arthur Barrett said: “This has been a long time coming. The select vestry have been planning these restoration works for a number of years and a huge amount of work has already taken place, especially in fund-raising for the project.”

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“For fourteen hundred years, Christians have been coming to this site to pray. The present church itself is over 800 years old.

“If we’re to preserve worship on this ancient and historic site, then this restoration work is absolutely essential.”

Dean Barrett added: “The restoration project is challenging, in the current financial climate, but I have been delighted by the response.

“I thank parishioners for their patience and generosity, and for their commitment to St Eunan’s Cathedral. And I thank the wider community, too for their support for the project.

“The scale and ambition of the project have undoubtedly stretched us as a parish,”

Related topics:Government