The parish of Tramore in County Waterford has launched a €1.8m
fund-raising appeal to pay for the planned refurbishment of the seaside
town’s Holy Cross Church.
The revamp will include a new roof, insulation, a new heating system,
new doors and the repointing of the church’s spire, which itself has
had remedial work in recent years.
The parish hopes that the project
can be undertaken over the coming year and has appealed to Mass goers in
Tramore for help with the €1.8m price tag.
Because of the height and complex structure of the roof, re-slating
it is the biggest element of the project and a major contributor to the
cost. As well as replacing the slates, the parish plans that insulation
will be installed to improve heating in the church.
The 150-year-old building is listed as a national monument, so the
slates must be replaced with ones of the exact same type and size to
comply with planning requirements.
And the majority of the old slates
cannot be re-used as they were nailed both top and bottom.
The upper part of the church’s spire has already had remedial work
carried out but re-pointing is still needed around its bell to preserve
it into the future.
Consultant architects engaged by the parish have also suggested that
refurbishment of some of the exterior, such as cleaning of the walls and
repairing the gutters, while not essential, would be desirable.
Last year, a pilot weekly Planned Giving envelope collection system
was tested and to start the fund-raising rolling, this will be extended
to all homes in the parish, which will soon receive donation envelopes.
But Tramore Parish Council said it will be looking for other fun and
intuitive ways of raising funds and has called for suggestions.
The complete construction of Holy Cross Church, or more properly the
Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, took place between 1856 and
1871.