A photograph in the possession of the National Library of Ireland provides a fascinating old image of one of Dublin's most important Roman Catholic churches. Part of the Lawrence Collection and taken from the south side of the river Liffey, the picture shows St Paul's on Arran Quay around a century ago. At that time a handsome three storey brick house stood immediately to the west of the church but this has long since disappeared, like so many of the fine properties that once lined the capital's quays. The building, along with its neighbour, was probably demolished in the 1920s when the parochial house - now home to the Catholic Youth Care organisation - was constructed on a site set well back from the road beside the river.
The other interesting feature in the old photograph is the screen of elegant iron railings in front of St Paul's. These were also removed at some unknown date, but at the beginning of February the church received a new set of railings made of galvanised steel. No doubt this addition will cause offence to some observers because it means the porch of St Paul's is no longer available as a resting place to the homeless who, for the past couple of years, had taken to spending the night in this sheltered spot. The new railings are over nine feet high and it would take some initiative, not to mention athleticism, to scale them and reach the sanctuary beyond. In future, the homeless will obviously have to discover somewhere else in which to lay down their few possessions.
However, the railings are also unsatisfactory for other reasons. Firstly, unlike their lost predecessors, they are not set at street level outside the church's portico but have been inserted immediately inside the line of columns. They therefore alter fundamentally the appearance of the building, not least by obstructing the view of its three monumental doors. Secondly, the most striking characteristic of the railings is their height, which is out of proportion with their thin girth; an unsatisfactory attempt has been made to provide them with more substance by adding extra vertical supports intended to imitate the columns, including pastiches of the latter's Ionic capitals. The external design of St Paul's has been damaged, although aside from a number of holes drilled into the stone during the railings' installation, not irretrievably by this piece of work.
Penal laws
Perhaps this might matter less were the church not so important, both architecturally and historically, and were its future not still uncertain. While the parish of St Paul's dates from the first years of the 18th century, the imposition of penal legislation against public expression of the Roman Catholic faith meant only a chapel could be constructed, and that concealed to the rere of Arran Quay. In 1835, work was begun on the present splendid St Paul's overlooking the Liffey, making it one of the first such churches to be built in postCatholic Emancipation Ireland. The architect responsible was the immensely successful and prolific Patrick Byrne, whose other work in this field includes St Audoen's on High Street and Rathmines parish church. The main body of St Paul's was completed by 1837 and the monumental portico and its pediment, slender bell turret and concluding cupola all added some six years later. Fronted entirely in granite and with its roofline topped by three grandiose sculptures - the centre one depicting St Paul himself - the church is one of the most dramatic features on the quays. The interior proves to be equally striking. Without aisles - like many of its contemporaries - and accordingly able to accommodate a very large congregation, St Paul's also has no transepts but does hold a curved wall painting which depicts the conversion of the saint in question and is fronted by a screen of massive Ionic columns like those on the exterior. Furthermore, the church is of significance for a number of other reasons. The Benedictine monk Dom Columba Marmion, beatified last autumn, was baptised there, as was Dublin's new cardinal, Dr Desmond Connell; the latter's parents were married in St Paul's and so too were Eamon and Sinead de Valera.
Redundant
As the church was originally constructed to hold a substantial number of worshippers, it has long since become redundant. United with St Michan's of Halston Street in the mid1970s, the St Paul's was under the care of the Capuchin order until late 1998 when responsibility for its maintenance reverted to the Dublin archdiocese. Since then, the doors of the church have remained closed; seemingly the only people interested in seeking succour there being homeless individuals on winter evenings. Evidence of St Paul's decline can be seen in the graffiti-covered doors but the church may be operative again before too long, according to Catholic Youth Care's Fr Jim Caffrey who has now taken the building under his personal care and who insists that it will be in use as soon as possible, albeit not as a parish church. The problem of finding fresh purposes for architecturally important but superfluous structures is one likely to preoccupy the Irish Catholic church with increasing frequency over the years ahead. When and if St Paul's reopens its doors - admittedly behind a set of unattractive new railings - it could set an example for other religious buildings around the country.