A complete refurbishment project on St Peter and Paul's Church in Athlone is to be undertaken over the next year. The project will cost €350,000 and will include restoration works on the church’s two towers, repairs to its clock, and the painting of the interior.
Fund-raising has got under way to pay for the restoration which the parish hopes to see completed in time for celebrations to mark its 75th anniversary.
The need for repair works on the church’s towers became apparent late last year when a cross on one of them became loose and needed urgent repair works.
While damage to the cross was not as bad as it was first estimated, the parish decided that while scaffolding was erected on the building, a proper assessment of the building’s condition should be done.
Parish priest Canon Liam Devine said that this assessment found that the upper part of one of the towers had suffered a lot of damage over the passage of time.
“Some of the decorative features are falling off and it is a tedious and slow job," he said.
A number of features on both of the church’s towers are now eroded and have become unstable, the Canon explained.
He said taking them off for repair or replacement was expensive - eight decorative urns alone will cost over €30,000 to replace.
“The whole mechanism for the clock needs replacing and that will cost €71,000,” he added.
The Canon said that the refurbishment of the interior of St Peter and Paul’s would entail a three-month repainting programme which will start next January.
"We had hoped to redecorate the church for the anniversary, but when the scaffolding went up we decided to start it now," he said.
To raise the money for the refurbishment, the parish has already held a very successful envelope collection and a charity night in Athlone’s Little Theatre.
Canon Devine said the parish was relying on traditional money-making ventures, including a variety concert and a golf classic.
"It is ongoing, and we really appreciate the support, especially in these times," he remarked.
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