The spire of a nineteenth century church has had to be dismantled after surveyors found that mortar holding it up had disintegrated. Fr Tim Dalton, who is parish priest of Rathangan-Cleriestown, said he was shocked when steeplejacks inspecting the steeple of the Church of the Assumption and St Laurence O’Toole told him “gravity was the only thing holding it up.”
He said that when the village’s parish council decided that the church needed a general refurbishment and commissioned a complete survey, it did not anticipate hearing that the spire was a serious safety hazard.
“We got more than we bargained for - the top half of the spire wasn’t even connected to the bottom half, gravity was the only thing holding it together,” he said.
“We’re fortunate that we discovered it now and there wasn’t an accident or someone wasn’t killed,” he added.
Fr Dalton explained that the stone-faced steeple has a metal frame that had badly rusted.
What was even worse was that this had caused expansion, which dislodged mortar between the blocks and rendered the whole structure unsafe.
The tower and spire are 135 feet high to the top of the cross and has been a conspicuous landmark in the area since the church opened in 1873.
In earlier years, the church was even referred to as ‘The cathedral in the fields’ because of its highly visible bell tower.
The metal frame will now have to be replaced as well as a mounting for the bell, which was also found to be in bad condition.
The whole structure had to be dismantled carefully, one section at a time.
Fr Dalton said that proximity to the sea had hastened the corrosion of the metal and erosion of the stone.
He said the cost of what was to be a modest refurbishment project, which is to be finished by July, has now risen to €300,000 and this is expected to take up to ten years to raise.
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