Church of Ireland plans renovation of Saint James’s
St. James’s church in Dingle, is set for a major renovation that will make it more functional as a oncert venue if plans to modernise the facilities in the church are realised.
An ambitious plan which the Rev Phyllis Jones, Minister of the church, says will “take the building into the next century”, will include a development of the use of the building as a venue for concerts and lectures.
The Church of Ireland church, dedicated to St. James, is the place of worship for the Anglican community in West Kerry and over the past 16 years it has been the home to the internationally famous ‘Other Voices’ series.
“It is an iconic church that is widely used by the West Kerry community during The Storm festival, the Film Festival, Féile na Bealtaine, the Food Festival and Other Voices and hundreds of people attend music concerts there in the summer time,” said Rev. Phyllis.
While the church is principally a place of worship, “the footfall that has arisen because of the other activities is truly amazing, bringing a variety of people in to share our place of worship” she said.
Regular concerts in the St. James’ were first organised by Steve Coulter, a harpist from Califronia who made Dingle his home in the 1990s.
The church is attracting a constant stream of visitors and Rev. Phyllis said that people are impressed by the ambience of the building. “A lady from Germany loved the place so much that she returned this year to hold a service of renewal of her wedding vows, and is planning to return with her family again.”
The international reputation that the small church gained as the home of Other Voices attracts people from around the globe and the sharing of a place of worship with other events is not problematic for Rev Phyllis
“It is a joy to be able to share this amazing sacred place with so many visitors and performers – many who wouldn’t normally come here, Each of these people share the place where we worship God and some of the love of God goes with them, when they go,” she said.
The planned renovation of St. James’s includes the addition of a small kitchenette and a toiled for the disabled as well as the installation of an underfloor heating system. The plan reflects the multi-purpose use of the small church and will include the addition of a recessed stage that can be folded away under the altar when not in use for concerts.
The plan also includes the replacement of the partition between the main chapel and the side chapel with a glass screen, which will allow more light into the church. A separate room for the use of performers with a kitchenette and toilet off this room is also planned.
The church, constructed in 1808 on the site of an earlier medieval church, underwent substantial repairs in 2004 to deal with damp ingress through the walls and the poor condition of the windows. The planned project will cost in the region of €500,000 and Rev Phyllis is hopeful of attracting outside support from some of the successful artists who have enjoyed the use of the church at an early stage in their careers.
She is keenly aware of the scale of the task that she is undertaking and will take the first steps in the fundraising campaign with a 100km walk on a section of the Camino de Santiago in early May.