ST MARY’S Cathedral in Dublin is due to close for a two-year refurbishment.
The church, formerly known as St Mary’s Pro-cathedral, will close after Easter to facilitate the refurbishment.
The church, formerly known as St Mary’s Pro-cathedral, will close after Easter to facilitate the works.
St Mary’s had its status upgraded to a cathedral last year, making it the first in the capital in over 500 years.
The church, on Marlborough Street, was designated a cathedral by Pope Leo XIV on the 200th anniversary of the building’s dedication in 1825.
According to Brendan Merry & Partners, who provide Quantity Surveying Services, the works will involve a number of aspects, including reconfiguring and restoring the sanctuary and internal spaces.
Workers will also restore decorative mosaic flooring, improve accessibility with a new retractable platform lift, refurbish key ecclesiastical furnishings and construct new glazed chapel areas, carefully demolish outdated extensions, and provide new rooms internally on the upper levels.
The cathedral is an important place of worship for the local community, and occasionally hosts special events, such as concerts and choir performances – with the late Pope Francis addressing the congregation there during his Irish visit in 2018.