An exhibition entitled Pugin 200, a Celebration of Colour, was opened by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin.
As well as designing St Aidan’s, English-born Pugin also planned several other churches in the diocese of Ferns and elsewhere in Ireland, as well as three sides of St. Mary's Square in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth.
In Britain, he designed or inspired several prominent ecclesiastical buildings and was a major contributor to the design of two iconic buildings in London, viz. the Palace of Westminster where the Houses of Parliament are located, and Big Ben.
Though brought up a Presbyterian, Pugin became a Catholic in 1834 and this brought him into contact with prominent Catholics and assignments to design church buildings.
In 1838, he was invited to Ireland by the Redmond family to work initially in the Wexford area, just as the building of Catholic churches was being permitted after the Penal Times.
Though his visits to the country were brief and not frequent, he managed to be associated with churches in Bree, Ballyhogue, Ramsgrange, Gorey, Tagoat and Barntown, in Co. Wexford as well as the cathedral in Enniscorthy.
He also designed St. Mary's Cathedral, Killarney, the church in St. Peter's College in Wexford, a chapel at Loreto Abbey in Dublin, and convents in Gorey, Waterford and Birr and the Presentation Monastery in Killarney.
The cathedral in Enniscorthy is widely regarded as the gem among his work in the Ferns diocese.
The exhibition includes 67 colourful quilts made by quilters from all over the southeast, furniture and other items designed by Pugin and a photographic exhibition.
In his speech, Minister Howlin noted that Pugin, who lived a comparatively short life, had designed over 100 notable buildings in twenty years.
He spoke in glowing terms of St. Aidan’s Cathedral itself, which houses examples of some of Pugin’s magnificent designs, ranging from ceramics to furniture.
Fr. Richard Lawless CC said Enniscorthy and the diocese had been given a great gift by Pugin in the form of St. Aidan’s Cathedral.