Plans to re-designate St Andrew’s on the southside as a cathedral mean St Mary’s Pro Cathedral would end up being downgraded.
Because the Archbishop of Dublin’s spiritual headquarters may soon be crossing the River Liffey.
So why is Dublin’s north-south rivalry being sparked again by a Catholic cathedral, of all things?
This week it was confirmed that the Archdiocese has a plan to re-designate St Andrew’s Church on Westland Row as Dublin’s first full-blown, modern Catholic cathedral.
If that happens, St Mary’s Pro Cathedral on Marlborough Street would be downgraded to a humble basilica (the same status as Knock and Lough Derg).
While no official decision has been made yet, two former Dublin lord mayors are among those who say they will resist any such change.
“It would be a slap in the face [to northsiders] who have attended the Pro Cathedral for so many years,” Independent councillor Christy Burke told The Irish Times.
“What is the point behind all of this upheaval? The church will lose support in the inner city if this move takes place.”
What exactly is a cathedral and how come Dublin doesn’t have a Catholic one?
A cathedral is the seat or usual workplace of a diocese’s bishop (from the Latin word ‘cathedra’, meaning ‘chair’).
Dublin has two in St Patrick’s and Christ Church, but they both belong to the Church of Ireland.
St Mary’s was opened in 1825, just as Ireland’s anti-Catholic Penal Laws were being wound down.
The Vatican labelled this new building as a pro-cathedral (the “pro” stands for “provisional”) because it intended to build a bigger one when money became available.
But that never actually happened?
No. After the 1916 Rising, Ireland’s first independent leader WT Cosgrave wanted to put a Catholic cathedral on the site of the burnt-out GPO.
The arch-conservative Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, chose Merrion Square’s central gardens as a suitable location and bought a site there.
All these plans came to nothing, creating the strange situation that Irish towns such as Tuam, Enniscorthy and Ballaghaderreen have Catholic cathedrals but our capital city doesn’t.
As an old saying goes, however, the Vatican doesn’t think in years – it thinks in centuries.
So, St Mary’s has now been a “temporary” cathedral for almost 200 years?
Yes. When Daniel O’Connell became Dublin’s first Catholic lord mayor in several centuries in 1841, he celebrated with a mass there.
Nationalist heroes such as Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera were given state funerals in St Mary’s, while Pope Francis paid it a visit during his trip to Ireland five years ago.
“How much love has been expressed here,” the Pope told his audience, “and how many graces have been received in this holy place.”
Why does the current Archbishop of Dublin think it may finally be time to make a move?
Dermot Farrell has recently been having discussions about this issue with the Council of Priests, an advisory body.
The consensus seems to be that Westland Row is simply a better location for large-scale Catholic events.
St Mary’s is in an area “undergoing renewal”, the Archdiocese said in a statement, while St Andrew’s is “well-placed to engage with the vibrant residential, commercial and cultural heart of the city”.
A spokesman added that St Andrew’s “has a far larger capacity, with excellent sight lines for those attending liturgies and other events”.
Doesn’t the Dublin Archdiocese have enough trouble filling these churches without worrying about what to call them?
In fairness, the Archbishop has acknowledged that falling mass attendances will probably force some Dublin churches to close.
According to last year’s census, Dublin has the lowest proportion of Catholics in Ireland at 53pc (compared to the national figure of 69pc).
While the exact number of weekly mass-goers is unknown (it was estimated at 20-22pc in 2016), it seems likely that Covid-19 has had a devastating effect.
A recent survey commissioned by the Iona Institute found that 41pc of Catholics who regularly went to mass before the pandemic no longer do so.
Of those, 31pc say their faith isn’t as strong, 31pc still have health concerns and 20pc prefer to watch it online or on television.
While the Archdiocese accepts it has to downsize, however, the devil will be in the detail.
Last February, a row broke out over Dublin City Council’s zoning of 24 churches and eight parish halls for residential development – which Archbishop Farrell called “an extraordinary attack on the Catholic faith”.
Isn’t the Dublin archdiocese also suffering from a severe priest shortage?
Yes. The capital currently has around 300 active Catholic priests serving 197 parishes. Their average age is just over 70 and Vatican rules require them to offer their resignations at 75 (in practice, many are staying on much longer).
While mass attendances may be crashing, however, the demand for Catholic baptisms, weddings and funerals remains high.
Meanwhile, almost 90pc of Ireland’s 3,241 primary schools are still under Catholic control and this means a steady stream of First Communions and Confirmations every year.
As a result, lay Catholics are now being asked to ease the priests’ workload.
While giving mass in St Mary’s last year, Archbishop Farrell announced the creation of training programmes for lay Catholics willing to carry out some ceremonies themselves.
“It is my pastoral responsibility to do this,” Farrell said. “Christ brought his disciples along a new way. He calls for us to find a new way in our time.”
Finally, where does the cathedral row go from here?
The Archdiocese has set up a project group with representatives from both St Mary’s and St Andrew’s parishes to develop proposals.
A plan will be submitted to Rome before the end of this year.
After that, the Vatican must decide.
Already, however, some Dublin northside politicians are promising to take their concerns all the way to the top.
“I will certainly be dropping [Pope Francis] a note,” Independent north-inner city councillor and former lord mayor Nial Ring told RTÉ radio last Monday.
“I feel strongly about it… the amount of people who I know were born in the Rotunda and taken over by their granny to the Pro Cathedral to make sure they got baptised.
“[St Mary’s] is part of the heart of the city [and] we don’t want another holy war over this.
I’ll be saying clearly to [Archbishop Farrell], if the right decision isn’t made, we might have to go over your head, Your Grace.”