St Mary’s Cathedral, one of Dublin’s “most important” Catholic church buildings, is to close next week until 2028 for a €17 million renovation, Dublin’s Catholic Archdiocese has announced.
St Mary’s, which was designated by Pope Leo XIV as the Catholic cathedral for Dublin last year, is to close on August 17th after planning permission for “essential” renovation and conservation works was granted by Dublin City Council in October.
The project will involve external accessibility upgrades, structural maintenance and upgrades to the cathedral’s interior. It is expected to cost €17 million, according to the archdiocese.
Three-quarters of the funding has been pledged by “generous donors”, it said in a statement on Thursday. The remainder will come from fundraising.
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Previously known for 200 years as the Pro Cathedral, the church on Marlborough Street has hosted significant religious ceremonies and national events, including the 1922 funeral of Michael Collins and the 2018 Pope Francis visit.
On its 200th anniversary last November, Leo designated St Mary’s as the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. A cathedral is the seat of a diocese’s bishop.
“While the Cathedral’s recent designation gives added significance to the project, the need for substantial works has long been recognised,” the archdiocese said.
“This investment will preserve one of Dublin’s most important church buildings while preparing it to serve future generations.”
A spokesman for the archdiocese confirmed the cathedral is expected to be closed for two years.
During the closure, major liturgies will take place in St Andrew’s Church on Westland Row, while “parish and sacramental life” will continue at St Joseph’s Church on Berkeley Road, it said.
The temporary closure forms part of a “wider vision” for the Catholic Church’s presence in Dublin city centre, it said, namely a “twin pillar” strategy adopted by Archbishop Dermot Farrell, which is centred on St Mary’s and St Andrew’s.
“Not merely about buildings”, the initiative seeks to “strengthen the church’s mission through prayer, welcome, service, encounter and outreach, maintaining a strong presence on both sides of the river Liffey”, it said.
Archbishop Farrell announced in June 2023 that Vatican permission was to be sought to have the Pro Cathedral, north of the Liffey, elevated to the status of a basilica while St Andrew’s, south of the Liffey, would become the city’s cathedral.
The plans were dropped after protests from some in Dublin’s north inner city parishes at what they interpreted as a downgrading in the status of their local cathedral.
Noting on Thursday that both St Mary’s and St Andrew’s have “long histories of serving the population of Dublin”, the archdiocese said their locations, capacities and existing links to civic, cultural and educational bodies provide “unique opportunities for a renewed pastoral presence at the heart of the city”.
